The Power of Four
by md1347
Summary: First comes marriage then comes . . . or does it?
1. Chapter 1

**The Power of Four**

By Mike Douglas

_Special thanks to nezabudka1 for help with editing the story._

Rating: R (Adult Language)

_Disclaimer: Luke, Noah, and all related characters, plots, and locations are property of As the World Turns, Telenext Media, and CBS Television. No profit is made from this fan creation. No copyright infringement is intended!_

Summary: First comes marriage then comes . . . or does it?

Chapter 1:

-P-

"We have to do it _now_, Luke," Noah voiced nervously. "We can't put it off anymore. We need to tell them."

Luke reluctantly picked up the phone and called his parents. Lily answered the phone on the second ring as Noah picked up the extension.

"Mom, it is Luke and Noah."

"Hi dears."

"Mom, we need you, Dad, Grandma and Grandmother to come out to Los Angeles as soon as you can."

"Is there something wrong?" Lily automatically asked.

"No, um . . . nothing's wrong." Luke knew he slipped up as soon as the words came out.

"That doesn't sound too convincing, Luke."

"It's not anything like that Mom, honest." Luke tried to reassure his worried mother while giving Noah a shaky glance.

"This weekend okay for you?"

"Sure, Mom," Noah spoke up.

"Noah dear, there you are," Lily sounded relieved. At least it looks like it's not a Noah problem, she thought to herself.

"Oh, we moved. We will email you our new address."

"Moved? When did you move?" A mother's instinct is never wrong and her radar was flashing that her son was hiding something from her.

"We moved last week. We've just been so busy lately. We do have something to tell you but it is good news," Luke volunteered.

"Are you sure everything is okay?"

"We promise," replied Noah. "Oh and bring your bathing suits if you want to swim, we have a pool now."

"A pool? Okay, we will see you then. Bye." Lily hung up the phone. "I wonder what's wrong?" she asked herself. She thought the worst of course but shook it off as she called everyone to make plans to go to Los Angeles.

Noah walked over to Luke and pulled him into a hug. "I know you are scared. I am too but we have to tell them," Noah knew it was the right thing to do. "Frankly, we can't wait much longer."

"I know. I just hope they take the news well," Luke approached Noah snaking his arms around his waist, planting a soft kiss on Noah's lips.

"They will be shocked but they will be fine with it. I'm positive." Noah was sure.

-P-

Friday afternoon, Luke received a call on his cell from the limo driver telling him that he was a mile away. He thanked the driver, hit the button to open up the driveway gate and went to get Noah. As the limo pulled up outside the front entrance, Luke and Noah walked out of the front door, hand in hand, down the front steps to the limo in the driveway.

The doors on the limo opened and four shocked people stepped out. Nobody could believe what they were seeing. It was like a tropical paradise. Palm trees, tropical plants and lush gardens all over the property. The house was huge and the landscaping was immaculately kept.

"Welcome to Beverly Hills!" Luke greeted his shocked family.

"I see you guys like our new house," Noah snickered.

"You guys bought this?" Holden asked as he was looking at all the splendor of the grounds.

"We moved in last week," Luke hugged his dad.

"Beverly Hills is the _only_ place to live, darling," Lucinda teased as she took off her large black Chanel sunglasses to look around. "It is _beautiful_ darling. It looks like a tropical resort. Much better than the dump you lived in before."

"Grandmother!" Luke was shocked by her declaration. He knew she didn't like the plain townhouse he and Noah shared for the past couple of years.

"We are still trying to find things," laughed Noah rolling his eyes. "Hi Mom." Noah gave Lily a quick hello kiss and turned to Emma.

Lily froze from the shocked reaction of Noah's words. She always considered Noah part of her family but hearing those words from him felt good. "Did you call me mom, Noah?"

"Yes," replied a cheerful Noah, hugging Emma.

"What's going on you two? We've been worried sick since your phone call," Emma just couldn't take it anymore.

"We can talk in the house," Luke replied, embracing Lucinda while trying to keep his worried and curious family calm.

Once the greetings were exchanged, they started walking up the steps to the house.

"How big is this . . . um . . . place?" asked Holden, mentally calculating the square footage in his head while the rest of the family followed Luke up the steps of the house.

"There are six bedroom suites in the main house, theater, lounge, game room, wet bar, dining room, kitchen with fireplace, mosaic glass tile resort pool and spa with safety cover, solarium, gym with a bathroom, two two-bedroom guest houses, tennis court, nine car garage, pond and a waterfall and a few fountains." Luke was almost out of breath as he finished.

"What do you guys need with all this room?" asked Lily, taking in the scenery as she walked up the steps to the house.

"With all the Snyders around, are you kidding?" laughed Noah, trying to lighten the mood for the nosy family.

When they reached the front door, Luke opened it, walked through the foyer and into the living room.

"I cannot believe this place. It is huge," Emma was clearly shocked as she looked around.

"How did you get this decorated so fast?" asked Lily.

"There is a story to that. The owners came home while we were touring the house. They told us that they decided on buying a victorian style house, so virtually none of the furniture would really fit the style of the house. We loved the house and how it was decorated, well mostly, so we offered to buy the furniture off them. We really do not know how to decorate a place this lavish so it seemed to make sense. Muffy, the previous owner, even helped us replace things that she took, like the beds, their heirloom furniture and such," replied Luke.

"That woman can shop. We were exhausted and poor when we finished," laughed Noah.

"It's gorgeous!" Lucinda was clearly impressed.

"Thank you, Grandmother," Noah nodded proudly. As if on cue everyone turned their heads to look at Noah, causing him to chuckle. "_What_ we've always been family, I'm just finally admitting it out loud."

The length of the trip was beginning to take its toll on everyone when Luke showed them to the living room and they let their bodies sink into the comfortable couch. "Oh wait, I have tea." Luke got up, walked through the hall and into the kitchen. Emma followed him, curious to see what the kitchen looked like.

"Wow!" Emma was taken aback when she saw the huge kitchen.

Lily, Holden and Lucinda got up after hearing Emma exclaim and followed her into the kitchen. Noah giggled and went to join them.

"This is some kitchen," Lily couldn't believe her eyes.

Holden was still quiet. He knew something was being held back by Luke and Noah and it worried him. Lucinda was looking at everything, almost jealous that her kitchen did not look as good.

Emma stood there staring at the ten burners, four-oven gas stove with a built in grill and hotplate. She felt like she had died and gone to stove heaven.

"We wanted to make sure you had enough space to make pies and cookies," Luke chuckled at her as he took the kettle off the burner and poured it into the mugs sitting on the island.

Emma laughed, "The things I could make with this." She ran her hand over the metal to make sure it wasn't a mirage.

"That's something I would like to find out, Grandma," added Noah.

-P-

Holden finally spoke up after he heard Noah call his mother Grandma. "Okay, out with it. What's going on?" Lily, Emma and Lucinda all moved close to the island where Luke was pouring the tea.

Luke and Noah quickly glanced at each other with the look in his eyes that was only reserved for them . . . a look that said it is now or never. Noah shook his head at Luke in defeat. He stepped up next to Luke and put his arm around Luke's waist for support.

"Okay. Well, Noah and I got married on Saturday." Luke smiled.

"You what?" Lily was angry. "How could you get married and not tell us?"

"We had to . . . ," Luke knew he said it wrong as soon as it came out of his mouth. "Um, we wanted to get married right away."

Holden noticed Luke's flub. "Had to?"

Sensing the rising tension, "If you will all calm down . . . ," Luke began but was cut off by everyone complaining.

"We will not!" Emma replied in an irritated voice matching Lily's annoyance.

"What is really going on here?" Lucinda added to the chorus of angry voices.

"Stop it!" Noah yelled. Everyone ceased their shouting and looked at the source behind the loud voice. It wasn't very often Noah raised his voice. "This is nothing to be angry about. Just let us explain and you will understand."

Inhaling a deep breath, everyone _tried_ to calm down and decided to listen to the boys before chastising them.

Holden just couldn't stay quiet. "What do you mean had to? When someone says they have to get married they are . . . but that's impossible."

"Darling, this _is_ California!" Lucinda said in a careful voice, eliciting a hearty laugh from everyone. The laughter didn't last long as smiles disappeared, quiet set in and the seriousness of the situation returned, Noah handed a picture to Lucinda and Lily.

"A sonogram?" Lily asked in shock.

"Yes."

"You're going to have a baby?" Emma voice was full of excitement as she crowded around Lucinda to look at the picture.

"Yes. You're going to be a great-great-grandmother," Luke announced proudly.

"If you will just let us . . . ," Noah tried to take back control of the discussion.

Lily noticed something strange on the sonogram and grabbed the picture out of Lucinda's hand.

"Lily was that _really _. . . ," Lucinda started to complain.

"Wait . . . ," Lily rambled, "There's more than one."


	2. Chapter 2

Lily noticed something strange on the sonogram and grabbed the picture out of Lucinda's hand.

"Lily was that _really _. . . ," Lucinda started to complain.

"Wait . . . ," Lily rambled, "There's more than one."

Luke and Noah looked at each other again.

"Yes," Luke replied simply.

They all huddled together as they studied the pictures.

"Is that another one or the same one?" Lucinda was in shock.

Luke decided to end the speculation before they tore the pictures in half trying to grab them from each other. "There are four."

Lily, Lucinda, Holden and Emma all gasped for air at the same time.

After Luke and Noah checked to make sure everyone was still breathing, Luke grabbed the tea tray and walked into the living room. He was glad that he had thought in advance and made chamomile tea to calm his hyperactive family down. Lily, Lucinda, Holden and Emma followed him with a little guidance from Noah and made themselves comfortable in the spacious living room. Emma and Lily had to be coaxed to sit down since they were the most shocked, by the news, and Luke and Noah were both trying to decide how to explain the beginning of their journey into parenthood.

-P-

"But how?" asked Lucinda interrupting Luke and Noah's concentration.

"See, there's this bird and a bee comes along and it pollinates . . . ," Luke tried to inject some levity.

"No, I mean how did _you _. . . ," Lucinda wanted answers.

"IVF . . . I mean In Vetro Fertilization," Noah replied. "I know it's shocking. We had the same reaction and we were the ones trying."

Lily was still looking at the pictures. "Wait, that's a winky," she smiled. "It's a boy." Noah laughed at Lily's comment.

"There are two of each," Luke said proudly.

The family suddenly quieted down again as stunned expressions returned. Holden opened his mouth as if to say something, but the words escaped him. Instead, he turned to Lucinda, knowing that she was never at a loss for words, and in a way, pleading for her to say something while he tried to find his voice.

"If you have sonograms, then why are we just finding out now?" Lucinda asked without any malice.

Letting out a shaky breath, Luke started to tear up. It still felt too raw and all too real for him to discuss the blessing of the family he and Noah were creating and the loss of what could have been.

"We had six blastocysts implanted. The doctors, along with the both of us, were totally surprised when all six took but we lost one three months ago and another two months ago," Noah replied sadly, knowing that Luke wouldn't be able to talk about it.

Holden turned to face his son, gently wiping away Luke's tears. "It's okay Luke," he said, embracing his son to offer what comfort he could. Looking up from Luke's shoulder, Holden noticed a still shocked Lily staring at the sonogram in her hands.

"We didn't tell you because we didn't want to tell anyone at first. Honestly, we expected it to fail the first time. Then there was the whole multiple birth shock and we lost two and we didn't know if any of them were going to . . . ." No matter how hard he tried, the sad memories of loss overtook Noah. It was still too hard to talk about. These were the babies he will never get to meet or hear they them say their first word.

Emma and Lucinda instinctively moved closer to Noah to form an emotional cocoon around him.

Luke found the strength to continue where Noah left off. "But the doctors feel everything is okay now. The babies are growing and Rose, our surrogate, is healthy. He doesn't foresee any issues at this stage in the pregnancy."

Lily finally put the pictures on the coffee table and tightly hugged her son. "I'm sorry I yelled. I was just worried with what could be wrong. I never imagined . . . _this_." She pointed to the sonogram.

"I'm going to be a grandpa," Holden smiled as it finally dawned on him.

"Ahh . . . I'm way too young to be a grandma," Lily feigned an innocent look on her face.

"When did you decide to get married?" Lucinda asked confidently. Being a business woman, she knew from years of experience how to keep her head straight even when she was shocked to the core.

"We've been thinking about it for a couple of years but the timing was never right for various reasons. Then we decided to have kids. I'll be thirty, in two years and we wanted to have kids before we hit the big three-oh," Noah replied honestly.

"And last week after the doctor told us that he thinks all four fetuses should make it to term, it hit us that we were going to be parents and that we should probably get married before they were born." Luke continued Noah's thought.

"So who did the masturbating?" Lucinda asked without any shame.

Luke and Noah were embarrassed turning different shades of red, Emma stifled a nervous laugh. Holden didn't want the gory details and Lily was praying it was Luke.

"Both of us," replied Luke with a slight redness in his face. This wasn't a conversation he ever expected to have with his parents and grandmothers. "We both had three eggs fertilized."

"But they will _all_ be _our_ children, no matter how it works out." Noah added. They planned to raise the kids like Holden raised Luke.

Everyone became quiet for a few minutes while assimilating the information when Emma laughed. "Now we know why the house is so huge."

"Let's take a tour and then we can lounge around the pool until dinner."

-P-

The tour around the spacious grounds lasted almost two hours. There was just too much to see. They would take the opportunity to sit down and rest when they could but by the time the tour ended, all of them were tired and thirsty. Luke pulled out a pitcher of lemonade from the wet bar refrigerator and they sat in the deck chairs overlooking the pool.

Lucinda spoke up asking out loud what the rest were thinking. "How in the world are you going to do this?"

"My current project will be done right before the kids are born. I've passed on the next project and I asked for at least six to nine months off," Noah explained.

"And my latest book was just sent to the publisher, so I'll be taking off as much time as I need." Luke added.

Noah continued. "We've been taking parenting and cooking classes."

"You're taking parenting classes?" Lily seemed surprised.

Noah wondered about her reaction. "When you start a project, you learn everything you can about it before you start filming." Noah's words elicited jolts of laughter from everyone.

"We figured," Luke said still giggling, "if we were going to have a baby then we should go to a class. When we found out about the six, we switched to a class which specializes in multiple births."

"When we made the decision to finally try for kids, we figured we should know how to cook. The classes we've been taking once a week for two years now." Luke said proudly as he looked at Emma.

"You mean your freezer isn't full of tv dinners?" laughed Holden.

"You will find those but you will also find _actual _food. We have class on Friday night and then for Sunday dinner, we trade off making a meal."

"It looks like you're getting everything taken care of?"

"Oh, no no no." Noah spoke up quickly and a little panicky. "There is so much more to do!"

"Like what?" asked Emma.

-P-

Before Luke and Noah could answer, the chime went off notifying them that someone was at the front gate. Noah went to find out who was at the gate while Luke explained all the tasks they still needed to accomplish. Noah came back a few minutes later with an attractive pregnant blond woman. Noah introduced everyone to Rosemary. "This is Rosemary . . . our vessel. She likes to be called Rose though."

Rose broke out in laughter. "Vessel. Is that what I am now? Well, this vessel is in need of nourishment. Something with raisins, I think." She waved her hand like she was the queen.

"Where are my bags, Noah?" Emma asked as she got up out of her chair and followed Noah into the house. Emma returned carrying a large container. "Do you like oatmeal raisin cookies?"

"Love them." Rose and Noah said simultaneously while Emma's sweet smile hid her thoughts from Noah . . . that his taste buds finally found competition for her famous cookies.

Emma took the cover off and offered one to Rose.

Rose took one and took a bite out of it. Her eyes went wide. "This is the best cookie I've ever had," she marveled taking another bite.

Noah grabbed a cookie before Emma laid the container on the table next to Rose's chair. He took a bite and kissed Emma on the cheek. "They are better than I remember, Grandma."

Rose nudged Luke. "Did you know your husband was a flirt when you married him?"

"He never flirts with me that way," teased Luke.

"My mother always said the way to a young man's heart is through his stomach," Emma laughed.

"I'm still hungry," Rose complained.

"We still have to cook dinner. We are having homemade lasagna with toss salad and whole grain rolls." Everyone looked at Luke and then at Noah in shock. "_What?_ I told you that we've been taking cooking classes," Luke complained.

Noah took Holden and Emma out to the vegetable garden and Luke took Rose, Lily and Lucinda into the kitchen where he started to boil the lasagna noodles. As soon as Noah came in with the vegetables, he brought in a comfortable wingback chair into the kitchen for Rosemary because everyone wanted to watch Luke and Noah prepare dinner.

The family sat at the island while Luke efficiently put together the lasagna. Noah put some rolls in the oven and started to prepare the salad.

Noah laughed as Emma followed him into the pantry as he gathered everything he would need for the salad. She was surprised to find a fully stocked pantry with all the basic food staples as she looked around. "Are you sure this is your house?"

"Yes, Grandma. This is really our house," Noah laughed at her suggestion as they walked back into the kitchen.

"We are going to eat in stages. It's not good for a pregnant woman to eat a huge meal, so we are going to have our salad first, then about an hour later, we will have lasagna. We can relax for a little bit before we have dessert." Luke was full of confidence.

They were all hungry from the tour of the house and long stroll around the yard, but only Rose complained. "If you make me eat another spinach leaf, I'm going to cry."

"Spinach is good source of vitamin A, plus all the grassy lettuce you hate is a good source of folic acid," chastised Luke as he set the table. "You haven't forgotten about our deal have you?" Noah let Luke talk as he diligently continued to prepare the salad.

"Okay, okay, you win," whined Rose.

"What deal is that?" Lily was curious.

"Before we determined on who was going to be our mother ship," laughed Luke, "we decided on giving her a good incentive to be as healthy as she can be."

"And what was that, darling?" asked Lucinda.

"Well, for multiple births, it is an extra one hundred thousand dollars for every healthy baby over three and a half pounds."

"That's some incentive, darling."

"We wanted to make sure the babies would have a healthy weight. We even hired a chef to prepare healthy meals for Rose at a restaurant near where she lives."

Noah had been carefully chopping up an onion, pepper, tomato, celery, carrots, radish and an apple. When he was done, he put it in a bowl with some leafy lettuce. In small bowls, Noah put sunflower seeds, hard boiled eggs, grated cheese, raisins and croutons, so people could add them separately.

"The salad course is ready," Noah said proudly. Luke removed the fresh baked rolls from the oven and put them on a plate.

Everyone moved over to the table and sat down. After they said grace, the salad and rolls were passed around.

Rose made sure she took a little of everything, including the extras. "Do you have any cheetos and pickles left?"

Noah got up and got them for her. She crumbled up some cheetos on her salad and took out a large dill pickle and started eating.

Rose took a nap before the main course was served while the family relaxed and caught up on the lives of family and friends, however scarce, still in Oakdale. After dessert, everyone said goodnight to Rose and both Luke and Noah walked her out the door to the awaiting taxi to take her home. Before their return to the house, the family chatted amongst themselves and all were quite impressed with Rose being the "vessel" for Luke and Noah's children.

-P-

"Darling, how much money is this going to cost?"

"Don't worry Grandmother, we have it all paid for already," reassured Luke.

"If you need . . ."

Noah interrupted the conversation. "Thank you Grandmother but he's right. We've been paying for everything from our savings so far, well, except for the house. We pulled that from interest on investments from the sale of Grimaldi and paid cash but we haven't touched any of the sale money or Luke's trust fund."

"We haven't lived extravagantly since we've been out there. We had a townhouse we rented and had two inexpensive hybrid cars. We have no debt and have been able to save a lot of money. We may have to dip into the Grimaldi interest a little more for bigger vehicles and some remodeling but the IVF, Rose's money, hospital, doctors, birth and everything is already paid for," Luke explained.

"I'm just saying, darling, that if you need anything, all you need to do is ask," Lucinda was proud they took care of things on their own but offered anyway.

"Thank you Grandmother but with my movie being finished soon and Luke's book, we should be able to pay back all of the Grimaldi interest and have plenty to live on for years without dipping into any funds," Noah was proud of what he and Luke have been able to accomplish on their own.

Everyone seemed pleased with how Luke and Noah planned their finances for now and the near future. All too soon, it was Sunday night and family left to fly back to Oakdale but not before Emma made some cookies and a few pies for Luke, Noah and Rose. They made Luke and Noah promise to stay in constant contact with them about any developments in the pregnancy.


	3. Chapter 3

Two months have passed. The nursery was completed, the search for a maid service that used as many natural products as possible was over, as well as finding a company that supplied them with nannies, who would work as a team to help care for the babies, laundry and cook, if needed. Luke and Noah purchased a GMC conversion van for when they all traveled together and two hybrid Escalades.

They started stocking up on baby supplies and purchased a second washing machine and dryer that matched the existing ones. Luckily, their laundry room was large enough but they did get rid of the bases for the existing washer and dryer, which put them a little about waist high and put a granite countertop that matched the rest of the room along the top of the machines was also added so that were extra counter space for all the laundry.

During the seventh month, Rose was beginning to have some issues, mostly due to her increasing size. Late in the seventh month, she was hospitalized with complete bed rest. Luke and Noah were at the hospital with Rose every day until finally around week thirty three, Christmas day, when they got the word that a caesarean section may have to be performed. The doctors were surprised the pregnancy was able to last this long.

Dr. Simms, who was Rose's perinatologist, walked up to Luke and Noah. "The small male is starting to show signs of distress. If things do not turn around soon, I think we may need to do a caesarean section." He explained medically what the issues and risks were. After he was finished, he left to call his team in.

Noah embraced Luke dotting feather light kisses to his face to somehow keep both of them calm from the worry about the babies.

Luke started to cry. "What happens . . .?" Neither Luke nor Noah had gotten over the loss of two of their babies.

"Don't you even think it!" Noah warned as he pulled back and wiped away Luke's tears. "They will all be fine."

"Are you sure?" Luke looked very vulnerable.

"I don't know Luke but we will deal with whatever happens . . . together." Noah replied with a lot of strength and then got excited. "Do you know what this means? We are going to have Christmas babies. I think we should call your parents now."

Sniffling away his tears, Luke pulled out his phone and dialed his mother's number.

Lily answered her phone. "Merry Christmas, Luke. How is everything out there?"

Noah put his ear next to Luke's, so he could hear the conversation. "We think it's time. The small male is starting to show signs of distress. The doctors want to do a caesarean section if his condition doesn't change."

"What on Christmas day?" Lily was shocked. "Mother . . . Mother." Luke could hear Lily yelling for Lucinda. "The babies are coming, call Wesley to get the plane ready." Luke could hear cheering in the background. Lily turned her attention to Luke. "We are at the farm. We just finished eating Christmas dinner. We will be on our way in a half hour."

Noah whispered to Luke. "Have her bring some leftovers."

"Noah said to bring some leftovers with you. We will keep you up to date." Luke said with a shaky voice.

Lily could tell Luke was scared. "Everything will be okay, baby. I just know it."

"I hope so, Mom . . . just get here." Luke pleaded and then hung up the phone. He looked at Noah. "I wish they were here already."

-P-

About an hour later, Luke and Noah were talking with Rose, trying to keep her calm with all the doctors and nurses running around poking and prodding her.

Noah spoke to her tummy. "Hey, little guy. This is your dad . . . we're going to get you, well, all of you out of there soon." A baby kicked and he could physically see the movement, which caused everyone in the room who saw it to start laughing. Noah started to tear up. "Watch out for your brother. We want to make sure that you all come out safely. It's Christmas day, so you will want to see Santa." Noah paused. "We really want to get to know all of you. Your Dad, Rose, your grandparents and I love you all very much. You just hang in there . . ." You could hear some sniffles going around the room.

Dr. Simms walked into the room. "The new test results are in and they are not any better. We feel we should do a caesarean section now before it turns into a critical situation."

"As long as Rose and the babies are okay, it is fine with us," Luke said.

"I've been ready." Rose was eager for the pregnancy to be over at this point.

"You can do it Rose," Noah said as a nurse grabbed him and Luke by the arm and pulled them out of the room to get ready.

As they were being dragged by the nurse, Luke dialed the phone and told his mom that the babies were about to be born and explained what was happening as they were changing into scrubs. As soon as they were wearing scrubs, he hung up the phone. Luke and Noah were rushed into a large room full of medical staff and medical equipment that included four incubators.

Each baby would have their own neonatologist and respiratory therapist and two nurses. Rose had a team of doctors in the event anything happened with her. There were several floating nurse practitioners and neonatologists in the room as well as several phlebotomists and radiologists, just in case they were needed.

-P-

Once the entire team entered the room, Dr. Simms took control of the room. "Keep monitoring the small male. He's under a little bit of distress but unless it gets worse, we shouldn't need to rush but let's prepare for the worst," Dr. Simms said. "Anytime you're ready Dr. Jamali."

Dr. Jamali was a plastic surgeon whose expertise was to cut and then stitch up the wealthy during caesarean sections in Hollywood. He would make sure the scar would be cut and sown up in the best possible way.

"Okay, here we go." Dr. Jamali made his cut and pulled the skin back exposing the womb.

Dr. Simms put his hands in Rose's womb and pulled out the first baby. "It's a boy," he said as he handed it to the first neonatologist. The baby started crying. Luke and Noah welled up with tears. Luke cut the cord on the first baby as Dr. Simms was busy getting the second baby ready.

Dr. Simms pulled out a second baby. "It's a girl." Noah cut the cord as the baby began to cry. The neonatologist ran off with it to the second incubator.

Dr. Simms pulled out the third baby. "It's another girl." She cried as soon as she was pulled out. Luke cut the cord on her and the third neonatologist too her to the third incubator.

"Noah, we need to do this quickly, just to be safe." Dr. Simms then pulled the fourth baby out. "It's a boy." Noah cut the cord quickly and the fourth neonatologist rushed off with it. The baby was not crying.

Luke and Noah were moved to the side of the room, away from the bed as they continued to look at the neonatologist and a respiratory therapist giving CPR to the last baby.

"Noah?" Luke said as Noah pulled him into a hug. Luke was getting more scared the longer the baby went without crying. "He's not . . ."

"It will be . . . ," Noah started but was interrupted by the last baby's loud cry.

"He's crying, Noah . . . he's crying," Luke said with excitement as he pulled Noah even closer to him. All they could do in that moment was hug and cry.

-P-

Noah looked over and saw Dr. Jamali stitching up Rose. He didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry, so he assumed all was good. There wasn't enough praise he could give Rose for what she had gone through for them.

"Merry Christmas, baby," Luke said to Noah pulling him into a kiss.

"Merry Christmas to you too," replied Noah putting his arms around Luke's waist.

A nurse walked up Luke and Noah. "Would you like to meet your babies?"

"Yes!" they both replied quickly.

They walked over to the first baby. "This beautiful boy is four pounds one ounce and sixteen inches long."

Luke took a look at the baby before him. He had black hair and blue eyes. No doubt, he was the spitting image of Noah. Luke looked at Noah and said "Harvey?" Noah shook his head yes. "Hi Harvey . . . your name is Harvey Bryant Snyder."

The nurse took out a tag and placed it on his arm and on the incubator. Luke had informed the nurses of the names they chose ahead of time, so they had the tags ready. They stayed there a few minutes talking to, touching and soaking in the features of the baby before they moved on to the next. They walked over to the second baby. "This beautiful girl is four pounds even and fifteen inches long."

She had light brown hair and brown eyes. Like the first time, Luke looked at Noah. "Emma?" Noah shook his head yes. "Hi Emma . . . your name is Emma Rose Snyder."

"She looks like Grandma," Noah smiled. Luke agreed.

The nurse put a tag on her arm and on the incubator. Again, they stayed a few minutes before moving on. They walked over to the third baby. "This beautiful girl is four pounds one ounce and sixteen inches long."

The third baby was another girl with black hair and blue eyes. "Hi Charlene Mary Snyder," Noah said.

The nurse put a tag on her arm and on the incubator. Again, they stayed a few minutes before they walked over to the forth baby. "This beautiful little boy is a little smaller at three pounds eight ounces and fourteen inches long."

He had light brown hair and brown eyes. "Your name is Bradley Walsh Snyder." The nurse put the last a tag on his arm and incubator.

"Is he okay?" Noah looked at the neonatologist. Bradley looked much smaller than his brother and sisters.

"He is more underweight than the others and it took him a minute to breathe but he seems healthy. We have fitted him with an oxygen mask just as a precautionary measure but he's breathing on his own just fine," explained the neonatologist.

"They are all just so adorable," they both couldn't look away from the babies.

Dr. Simms walked up to Luke and Noah. "All the babies are underweight, as we expected but they seem to be in good health otherwise. None of them show any signs of abnormalities but we will run more tests when we clean them up. Rose is stable and in recovery. We are going to keep her here for at least four to five days. We will be able to express breast milk for the babies."

Noah looked at everyone standing there. "We do not know how to thank all of you."

The nurse came back with pictures of the babies and handed them to Noah.

-P-

Luke and Noah spent about ten minutes going back and forth between each incubator talking to and touching their babies.

A nurse walked into the room. "We have a bossy old lady out here who is demanding to know information about the Snyder babies."

"That must be Lucinda," Noah tried not to laugh. "We are _so_ sorry."

Luke spoke up in defense of his grandmother. "She can be a little demanding but she is very loveable."

"A little? She's demanding to speak with the on-duty administrator," the nurse exclaimed.

"She normally goes right to the top. We will take care of it," Noah replied, trying to suppress a laugh. They walked out into the hallway towards the nurses' station.

"We'd like to show the babies to my parents and grandparents in a private room, if we can."

"Give us about an hour, so we can clean them up and run more tests on them."

They could hear Lucinda down the hall complaining. They laughed as they ran down the hall.

"Grandmother!" Luke called out.

They all circled around Luke and Noah. "There you are. They wouldn't tell us anything."

"You have four healthy grandchildren."

After the congratulation hugs were exchanged, they decided to head down to the cafeteria. Noah separated himself for a few minutes as they waited for the elevator and apologized to the nursing staff and canceled the call to the administrator.

On the way down, Luke made a quick phone call. "Gino, its Luke Snyder. Have you been out to the hospital today yet? Good, you can deliver our order any time you want . . . yes, the big box and add an extra dozen of flowers." Luke told him the sexes, weights and heights of all the kids and he thanked Gino. He turned to Noah. "He was just coming over here so he will drop them off today."

"Drop what off, dear?" asked Lucinda.

"We want the doctors and nurses to take special care of our babies so we ordered some flowers and candy to show our appreciation."

"But it's Christmas day."

"Gino and his partner own the landscaping company that does the landscaping at the house but he also owns a florist shop. He delivers flowers to the hospital on Christmas day and usually brings extras for anyone who does not have family on Christmas."

"That is very nice. We may need to start that at Memorial." Lucinda was impressed.

When they got down to the cafeteria, Emma unpacked the leftovers from Christmas that Jack and Carly shoved in a bunch of tupperware containers. They had turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and a few pieces from several different pies and cookies. Holden went up and purchased some drinks for them.

They sat down and started peppering the new dads with questions as they ate.

"You will just have to wait. The nurses are running tests and cleaning them up but we will have a private viewing for the babies in about an hour." Luke said with a devious smile on his face.

Luke and Noah gave them the weights and heights but not much else. They wanted them to be totally surprised. Noah told them everything that happened during the delivery. Luke and Noah were just finishing their lunch when Luke got paged that the babies were ready. They had cleaned up the table and threw out the trash.

"Thanks for bringing us the leftovers. It makes us feel like we are home. Everything was delicious, Grandma." Noah thanked Emma.

"They are ready, shall we go up?" Luke laughed when he and Noah suddenly became the only ones left at the table. They got up, and walked to the elevator holding hands.


	4. Chapter 4

When they got off the elevator and walked into maternity, the nurses were talking to the on call administrator.

"Shit." Luke cursed under his breath. "What's his name, Noah?"

"George something, isn't it?" Noah whispered back. Luke chuckled.

"Luke, Noah, I don't know if you remember me but my name is Dr. George Smith, I'm the on-duty hospital administrator. I hope everything is okay?"

"It's nice to see you again George."

"I heard about the commotion earlier. I want to apologize for any miscommunication . . ."

"Nonsense," Lucinda spoke up loudly, so the nursing staff could hear her. "I was the one out of line. Your staff handled themselves with the utmost professionalism. Whatever you're paying them surely isn't enough."

"We do have the best staff in the nation."

"George," Noah spoke up. "This is Lucinda Walsh, Luke's grandmother and over here are Luke's parents Lily and Holden Snyder and Luke's other Grandmother, Emma Snyder. I'm sure you remember Lily from the last foundation fundraiser you attended."

"Yes, I do. It's nice to meet you all." He shook their hands. "I know Luke, Noah and Lily from dealing with the foundation. They've helped a lot of kids over the years. You must be very excited about the new additions to your family."

"Very much," replied Emma, trying to be patient.

"I won't hold you up anymore. If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you George and thank your staff as well. Everyone has been very knowledgeable, professional and accommodating."

They said their goodbyes and Luke, Noah and the grandparents were ushered into a private room. A man in his late twenties entered the room and walked up to Noah carrying camera equipment.

"Matt, I'm glad you're here. They are about to bring in the kids," Noah greeted Matt. "Luke, this is Matt, a photographer I hired to take photos for us." Luke shook hands with Matt. "And this is Luke's grandmothers and parents." Matt said quick hello to everyone but was busy getting his camera ready for the shoot. "Matt uses a digital high definition camera, so we will have excellent digital photos that we can put on paper if we want."

The conversation ended quickly as a nurse wheeled in a plastic bassinet. Everyone encircled the bassinet to get a better look. After all the ooo's and aww's, Luke picked up the little girl with tears in his eyes. "This is the third oldest Charlene Mary Snyder."

Matt was in the background taking photos but nobody was even taking notice because they were too busy staring at the baby.

Noah was looking sweetly at Luke holding their baby. "We named her after my mother and Grandmother." Lucinda looked like she was going to cry. Emma and Lily were crying. Holden had a sweet smile on his face.

The door opened and another bassinet was wheeled in. Noah went over and picked up the baby.

"This cute little girl is the second oldest. Her name is Emma Rose Snyder. She is named after Grandma, Rose and Aunt Rose."

Emma was shocked that they named a baby after her. She walked up to Noah and looked at the baby. "She's just so adorable, Noah."

The door opened again with another baby. Luke handed Charlene over to Lucinda and went over and picked up his oldest son.

"This guy is the oldest. His name is Harvey Bryant Snyder. He's named after Grandpa and cousin Bryant."

Lily, Holden, Emma and Lucinda looked in awe at the cute little boy in front of them. They were pleased that the baby was named after Luke's grandfather and Lucinda's late grandson.

Noah handed over baby Emma to Emma to hold as the door opened with their last child. Noah went over and picked up the small little bundle.

"This little guy is Bradley Walsh Snyder. He's the baby of the family. He was the one who was in distress but he's going to grow up and be big and strong like his daddies and his grandpa." Noah looked up to see tears running down Holden's face.

"He's so small," Holden sniffled.

"Would you like to hold him Dad?"

Holden shook his head and Noah transferred the little baby into his grandfather's arms. Holden seemed to connect with the littlest one of the bunch. He was barely able to hold back the tears.

Luke saw what was happening and gave Harvey to his mom to hold. He walked over to his dad. "He may be small but he's scrappy. He withstood troubles in the womb. That surely makes him a Snyder . . . and a Walsh." Luke smiled at his dad as he pulled him into a loose side hug being careful not to disturb the baby.

"I bet he will be scrappy." Holden couldn't keep the tears from falling.

"Of course he will. He's a Snyder," Emma said firmly, "no Snyder has ever been born that hasn't been scrappy." Everyone laughed at the truth of the words. Holden remembered the conversation he had with his mother and Meg about Luke saving Kevin from drowning. _"Of course he went back. He's a Snyder boy. He's not going to hide from anyone."_

Noah took out his cell phone and started snapping a few pictures of everyone holding the babies. He sent a few of them to Faith, Nat and Ethan. Gino, who was dressed like Santa Claus, walked into the room and took a picture with everyone. Within an hour, people all over Oakdale were viewing the pictures of the Christmas babies.

They stayed at the hospital on Christmas day for as long as the nurses let them. Luke and Noah didn't want to be separated from their babies but knew they had to go home to grab a quick meal and some rest. It had been a long emotional day for all of them.

-P-

About two in the morning, Luke woke up to find Noah was not in bed. After about five minutes, Luke started getting worried and got out of bed to look for Noah. He looked in the bathroom but it was empty. He walked out the bedroom door and started down the hall when he noticed Noah in the nursery, sitting in a rocker, just staring at the crib. He walked into the room and knelt next to the rocker. He knew something was wrong. They could always tell with each other. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Do you think I'll be a good father?" Noah blurted out.

Luke was surprised by the question. "Of course you will be."

"I've always wondered . . . feared about becoming a father."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Why, Noah?"

"What happens if I turn out like . . . the Colonel?" Noah hadn't mentioned his father in years.

Luke moved in between his husband's knees and stroked his face. "You are the kindest, most loving person I know, Noah. There is no way you could ever be like him."

"It scares me sometimes."

"Remember when we used to babysit my little brother and sisters?"

Noah smiled at the memories. "Yes."

"You were kind, patient and loving with all three of them, even when they got on your nerves. That's how you will be with our kids. Although it still does irritate me that they love you more than me," Luke confessed.

"No they don't, Luke."

"They sure do," Luke replied honestly. "They always ask about you first. When we see them, they want a hug from you first and that's how I know you will be a great father to our children. I love that about you."

"I think they knew I needed it," Noah said truthfully. "I was pretty messed up back then."

"Then, they still do it now," Luke complained. "If it was anyone else . . . the point is that you are kind, loving and a good person."

"Is that why you married me?"

"No, I married you because we got knocked up," laughed Luke. Noah's laughter joined his.

Noah was obviously feeling better when he pulled Luke into a big kiss. "Come on, let's go back to bed."

Luke stood up and Noah offered his hand to Luke as he got up out of his chair. They walked hand in hand back to bed. When they crawled in, Noah spooned Luke and kissed him good night before they fell asleep.

-P-

The next morning, everyone was ready to leave by seven in the morning. They all were just too excited to see the kids, so they grabbed a quick bowl of cereal and were off to the hospital.

When they arrived at the maternity ward, June, the head nurse, bumped into them as she came out of someone's room. "Oh, Mr. Snyder. We were just about to do a morning feeding with your babies. Would you like to do it?"

"Yes," both Luke and Noah replied at the same time. Everyone laughed at their eagerness.

"The doctor said that he may release the babies tomorrow morning. I'll let him know you are here. He should be in to talk to you soon."

Everyone was excited as they went into the private room they had yesterday. Noah's phone rang and he answered it. He spoke to someone and then excused himself and walked out the door.

"What was all that about?" asked Lily.

"I don't know. I hope everything is okay." Luke was stumped but he didn't have time to wonder very long when his cell phone rang. Luke stepped over to the empty side of the room to answer it. When Luke got off the phone he looked worried. "Houston, we have a problem."

"What?" asked Lily.

"I called Amy this morning while I was getting ready. All of the women that we have to help us with the babies went out of town for the holiday. We will be on our own for two days. Do you think Noah and I could handle two days by ourselves?" hoped Luke.

"We will help you," replied Lily. Emma, Holden and Lucinda all agreed.

Luke relaxed. He knew they could handle one or two but he was afraid of handling all four at once by themselves.

-P-

Noah walked back into the room carrying a bag. He walked over to Luke and knelt down between Luke's legs.

"What's in the bag?" Luke was curious.

Noah reached down into the bag and pulled out a box from a jewelry store and handed it to Luke. "I got these so we would always remember the day our children were born."

Luke opened the box to find a gold disc pendant. The names of their babies were engraved on it and a birthstone, blue zircon, after each name. "Oh, Noah. It's beautiful." Luke kissed his husband and with shaky hands, removed the pendant from the box to put it on.

"The weights of the babies and the date of birth are engraved on the back."

Luke turned it over and was again taken by surprise. Tears were streaming down his face. Noah unclasped the chain and put it on Luke.

"Thank you, Noah," Luke kissed Noah deeply.

Noah reached into the bag and took out five more boxes. He gave one to everyone in the room and kept one himself. "I bought one for all of us."

Everyone took theirs out and put it on as June walked in the room with the babies in one big bassinet. "They seem to sleep better when they are together. Multiples are like that."

Luke took Charlene, Noah took Emma, Lily took Bradley and Emma took Harvey. June left the room but came back with a container full of burping cloths and baby bottles. June was surprised at how good Luke and Noah were with the babies. She only had to offer scant advice.

The Snyders spent as much time with the kids as possible and when they were sleeping, they were outside enjoying the day or in the cafeteria, waiting to go back to see the kids. On the way home for lunch, Noah pulled the conversion van into the closest grocery store. Luke and Noah went in and about twenty minutes later, came out with a large number of bags.

"What's in all those?" asked Holden.

"Well, we will not want to cook the next two days, so we are going to make a turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cabbage, macaroni and potato salads so we can just pull out what we want, warm it up and eat."

"That sounds like a good idea," replied Emma.

Noah started the van and pulled out of the parking lot and drove toward their house. After they brought everything in the house, Luke and Noah began to prepare the stuffing for the bird. Emma peeled the sweet potatoes as Lily peeled the potatoes and put on the kettle for the macaroni salad. Lucinda and Holden went out to get some fresh vegetables for the salads out of the solarium. It wasn't long before the turkey and the ham were in the oven and the potatoes were cooking on the stove.

Luke and Noah went into the living room to see what Lucinda, Holden and Lily were doing. Emma was in the kitchen making a couple of pies. Noah went over and put on the lights to the Christmas tree and noticed that there were a lot of presents under it, way more than they put there, a lot more. It was like Santa's whole sleigh was dumped under the tree.

"Bubby, look under the tree," Noah called out to Luke.

Luke looked over and was amazed by the amount of presents under the tree. "We've forgotten all about Christmas. Did you bring those presents?" He asked his parents.

Everyone looked innocent. "It must have been Santa," claimed Holden.

Neither Luke nor Noah believed their family but they saw a lot of boxes that had written Snyder boy 1 or Snyder girl 2 on them and some that just had Snyder babies.

"When grandma gets done in the kitchen, we can open the gifts," Luke said.


	5. Chapter 5

"Come and look at our new coffee and cappuccino machine," Noah said proudly. Everyone followed him to the wet bar and saw a machine sitting on the back counter.

"Wow, that's some setup," Holden said with wonder.

"What do you think a former barista would have?" Luke rolled his eyes.

"In this refrigerator, we have containers of coffee beans. You pick out the bean you want and stick the container in the slot on top of the machine. Put a cup or pot under the dispenser. You then tell it what size cup or pot you want, press the brewing type and press start. It will perfectly grind and brew your coffee to your liking." Noah made his and Luke's favorite. "The water comes from the houses reverse-osmosis system, so there are no impurities in the water."

Holden picked out a bean he wanted to try and made his own. "That's pretty fancy." Holden picked up the coffee off the dispenser and tasted it. "Man, that's good." Noah's grinned from ear to ear.

"Does it make tea?" Lucinda asked. What did she know, she had Rosa to make her tea.

"No but it does make hot cocoa," Noah showed Lucinda, Lily and Emma, who finally came out of the kitchen, how to get hot water from the machine and where the tea selection was located. "With the amount of parties we plan throw out here, we need something quick and easy."

Luke pointed at the hutches. "We need to do a little shopping before we have any parties." The hutches in the wet bar were virtually empty and when they toured the house, the dish room off the dining room was empty as well.

They all went inside and opened up the Christmas gifts. There were a lot of baby clothes and some toys, along with some gifts for Luke and Noah.

Buzzers began to go off in the kitchen. The ham was done and so were the pies. They sliced the entire ham and froze most of it in containers with two servings in each, but they kept enough out for the next two days. When the turkey was cooked, they did the same thing, along with most of everything else, except for the salads. When everything was put away, they cleaned up, loaded the dish washers and drove back to the hospital for another visit and feeding. They came home early to get some extra rest. They would need it for the next two days.

-P-

The next morning at the hospital Dr. Simms released the babies into the care of their daddies. They were all on a special formula since they were all underweight but Bradley would be on it until he caught up with his siblings. Their first doctor's appointment would be in two days. With the help of the nurses, they put the babies in their car seats and Luke and Noah were headed home for the first time. Lily rode with them while Holden, Emma and Lucinda followed behind in one of the Escalades. They've gone back and forth so many times, Holden didn't need the GPS.

"Welcome home babies," Luke said as Noah pulled into his garage. Holden pulled into the next bay.

Holden, Emma, Lucinda and Lily brought the babies into the house and Luke laid them down in their crib. All the babies went right to sleep.

The nursery consisted of the two guest suites on the first floor. Luke and Noah had the two rooms joined, so you could walk between them without walking out into the hallway. The room closest to Luke and Noah's room was the nursery and the room farthest away was a backup nursery, kitchenette and storage. The walls had a zoo theme. The nursery had two cribs in it for now. They had two more in the next room, if they needed them. They had four changing tables, four rockers and four swings in the nursery.

As the babies slept, the family came up with a plan. They would work in shifts of two. Two people would have a baby monitor so they could take care of the babies when needed. Two others would be on call, if needed but would go back to bed if they weren't needed. In four hours, the pair that was not on call would get up and relieve the pair that has been on the longest without sleep.

Bradley was the first baby to start crying. All the adults ran into the nursery to see what the problem was. Holden looked worried. They checked him out and he seemed to be hungry. Noah went to make the formula.

"He's already stolen your heart, hasn't he?" Luke asked his father.

Holden looked embarrassed. "I love them all, Luke. But he's so small . . ."

"It's okay, Dad. Do you want to feed him?"

"Sure." Nobody had to twist his arm. Holden sat down in a rocker and Luke put his son in his grandfather's arms. Noah came out a few minutes later with a bottle and gave it to Holden. Holden shook it gently and tested it on his arm and put the tip to Brad's mouth. Brad latched onto the nipple and began to feed.

"Awww," said Noah taking a picture of Holden feeding his son. "I'm going to make up more bottles. The others should be up soon."

Noah walked into the kitchenette and Emma, Lucinda and Lily followed him. Noah had eight glass bottles and was filling the bottles with ready to use formula. He filled up the bottles, screwed the nipples on them and put seven bottles into the refrigerator and he put one bottle warmer to warm up.

He explained it to them as he did it, so they knew what he was doing. He also showed them how to use the dishwasher drawer, specifically reminding them to use the sanitize button on every wash. He showed them the reverse osmosis faucet.

"You really have everything you need right here."

"Well, with quads, we figured we needed to. We have enough nipples and glass bottles here to last two days but we figured why run all the way into the kitchen, when we had the room here . . . ," before he could finish he heard two more babies crying.

Lily, Emma and Lucinda rushed out to pick up the babies. Noah put three bottles in the bottle warmer. "They won't be rushing like that at two in the morning," he thought. While he was in there, he filled up four more bottles. He walked back into the nursery in five minutes with a warm bottle for each baby.

Bradley finished feeding first and after he was burped, Holden checked and the baby was wet so Holden changed him, wrapped him back up in his blanket and set him back in the crib. Holden stood there looking at Bradley sleeping. Luke and Noah quietly walked up to him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I can't believe you have four kids and I'm a grandfather."

"You can't believe it?" Luke replied. "We can't believe it either, Dad," Noah could only laugh at the truth that came from Luke.

"I'm so proud of you two. For getting it together and for taking this on."

"When we finally got on the same page, it was easy. As for this . . . ," pointing to the crib ". . . well, that was an easy decision to make once we decided to have kids. It never even occurred to us though that we would have multiples but I wouldn't change a thing now."

"I wouldn't either," Noah agreed.

-P-

It wasn't long before all the kids were burped, changed and put back in the crib. The first feeding was a breeze. Emma and Lucinda took the first round. They agreed that when they needed the rest, they would put the baby monitor in the next group's room, which were Holden and Lily. It was 11:00 p.m. when Luke and Noah heard one of their children start to cry. They got up and went into the nursery to find Bradley and Emma crying. Noah went in and put on two bottles and went out and picked up his youngest son. They fed their children and changed them.

"Ahhh," Noah shrieked. He turned around and Luke laughed at the wet mark on Noah's shirt. Bradley had peed on Noah when he was changing him.

"His namesake was a pisser too," Luke laughed as quietly as possible.

"He's definitely, your child," exclaimed Noah.

"What? How do you know that?"

"When they are bad, they are your children and when they are good, they are mine," laughed Noah.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Great."

"The funny thing is that I think he was smiling as he did it. I think he really is Brad," Noah was laughing at the thought.

"No son of mine is going to be a goofball," Luke giggled as he looked down at Bradley.

"He is our son and if he's destined to be a goofball like his namesake, we will still love him," Noah picked up his son and cuddled him. "He's perfect just as he is . . . they all are. How did we get so lucky?"

"I'm not sure but I'm so glad we did."

"Me too."

They held their children until they drifted off to sleep and as soon as they put them down, Harvey and Charlene started crying. Luke ran into the kitchenette and put two bottles in the warmers. He came out and picked up his son, since Noah picked up Charlene.

"You know, I think she looks like my mom a little," Noah said with a big smile.

"She does," Luke agreed. He was glad Noah was having a good memory of his mother, instead of all the sad ones he's had for so many years.

"I'm so glad we did this, Luke."

"I am too. I just wish . . . ," Luke couldn't continue.

Noah knew what Luke was going to say. He was thinking of the two that didn't make it. They fed, burped and changed the babies, before they cleaned up and went back to bed.

-P-

Noah was awakened by a baby crying. He looked at the alarm clock and saw it turn to seven o'clock. Luke seemed dead to the world since they had to get up three times last night, so he got out of bed, turned off the monitor and walked into the nursery.

Luke woke up a few minutes later. He didn't see Noah anywhere, so he got up and walked to the nursery. He saw Noah yawning as he held a baby. He walked down the hall to the bar to make him a strong cup of coffee when he heard his parents and grandparents in the kitchen talking. After he made a cup of coffee for Noah and one for himself, he walked into the kitchen. "Good morning all."

"Good morning, Luke. How is everything this morning?"

"Pretty good," he yawned. "The kids got up three times after midnight and Noah is in with Bradley now."

"That's not too bad."

"Tell that to my brain. I'm exhausted."

"You are doing a great job, Luke. Both of you are." Emma was proud of her grandsons. "I'm going to make a quick breakfast for all of us. Then you and Noah go back to bed and get some more sleep. We can handle things for a while."

"Thanks Grandma. I'm glad we took classes and I'm very glad we hired people to help us," Luke laughed as he reached for the baby monitor on the table and turned it on. When it came on, he could hear a little voice begin to cry.

"Don't cry little, Bradley. Dad is here," Noah said softly.

"Awww," said Emma.

In a low voice, Noah started to sing. "Took my hand . . . Touched my heart . . . Held me close. . . ."

"What song is that?" asked Lucinda.

"Unbreakable by Westlife." *

Bradley stopped crying as Noah sang to him. Everyone in the kitchen continued to listen to him singing. When Noah finished, they could hear Noah crying. Luke got up, leaving the monitor on the table and went to the nursery. When he walked into the nursery, Noah had just put Bradley into the crib. He put down both cups of coffee and walked over and hugged Noah as he looked in the crib.

"We are so lucky, Luke," Noah wiped away his tears.

"I know. We are blessed."

They stood there looking at the babies for a few minutes before Holden and Lucinda walked into the nursery.

"Grandma is making us a quick breakfast, so we can eat and then get a couple of hours of sleep."

"That sounds great but we should clean up the nursery first." Noah was a clean freak.

Holden and Lucinda walked into the kitchenette. Holden made sure that there was enough formula for the day. Lucinda picked up a container of disinfecting wipes and cleaned up any spills on the counter top and then went into the nursery to clean up there.

Luke filled up the diaper dispenser and Noah collected the trash, tied it in a knot and put it in the hall.

When they were done cleaning up, they picked up the trash on the way out of the nursery and walked into the kitchen to see Emma and Lily making breakfast.

Emma noticed everyone walking in. "I love this stove. Do you think I can fit one in my kitchen?"

"Hardly," Holden laughed.

Emma looked disappointed. "We may need to add on to the house then." Everyone was surprised by her response. Emma has never wanted to change the house much. Holden always thought it was a way for her to remember his dad.

They ate a quick breakfast, which ended in the babies crying. Holden and Lily took care of them, while Emma and Lucinda took care of the kitchen and Luke and Noah went to bed.

"We really are parents now," laughed Luke as he crawled into bed.

"Why?"

"I'm too tired to have sex," Luke giggled.

"I'm never too tired," laughed Noah. He got into bed and shuffled over to Luke and gave him a big kiss before he pulled Luke up to him and spooned him as they fell asleep.

The next twenty-four hours were a lot like the last. The kids woke up about every three to four hours for a bottle and a diaper change.

-P-

The next morning the cavalry arrived. Four ladies in their forties or in their early fifties, walked in the front door. They all talked for some time before Luke and Noah took them back to see the nursery and the babies, showing everything they would need to take care of the kids along the way. Two of the ladies left because they were working the evening shift. They just came in for a couple of hours to see how things were laid out and ask any questions. Luke and Noah had met them before and liked them but it was different now that the kids were here. They were both nervous about having strangers in the house.

A couple of hours later, Lily pulled Luke aside. "They seem lovely. I think they will work out great."

"You think so, I've been so nervous."

"Of course you have. That's to be expected."

"We met them before and were impressed by their kindness and knowledge, even more so now. The first feeding went well."

"Yes, it did. I feel a little bit more relaxed about leaving. I hate to think about it but we do have to get back to Oakdale," she was on the verge of crying.

Luke pulled Lily into a hug. "It's okay, Mom. You can come out here anytime you like." Neither of them saw Noah walk up beside them.

"But will Noah feel that way?" asked Lily, almost afraid of hearing the answer.

"Feel like what?" Noah was curious to know what they were talking about.

"She's going to miss the kids when they leave . . ."

Noah interrupted. "You're welcome to come visit them, us, anytime you want."

"Are you sure, Noah?"

"Of course. Who took me in and helped me when I needed it the most? You, Dad, Grandma and Grandmother," Noah pulled Lily out of Luke's hug and took her into his arms. "You can come to visit anytime and you can stay for as long as you like."

Lily hugged Noah tightly. She was touched by his sincerity.

"Oh, now you did it," teased Luke. "Now we will never get rid of them."

"And you don't miss them when they are not around?" Noah pulled Luke into their hug.

Two days later, after a whole lot of crying, Lily, Holden, Emma and Lucinda went back to Oakdale.

-P-

-P-

* Westlife - Unbreakable lyrics are the property and copyright of their owners.


	6. Chapter 6

Seven months later, Luke, Noah and the babies were on a plane to Oakdale for a surprise visit. Luke was dying to show off their kids to his family. All of the plane's crew had been working for Lucinda for years were excited to see Luke and Noah's children.

Emma's renovations to the farm house were completed. Luke wondered how she had the work done so fast but Noah believed the shotgun had something to do with it. She added on to the side of the house that the kitchen was on, which intern expanded the kitchen, living room and the bedrooms upstairs. The footprints of all the bedrooms were increased, since the hallway was moved over and more bathrooms added. Luke couldn't wait to see it and almost jumped out of the limousine as it passed through Luther's Corner on its way to the farm. As they pulled in the driveway, both Luke and Noah were stunned at the size of the new addition. It was beautiful and it looked like she was having the whole outside of the house updated too. They couldn't wait to see what it looked like inside.

Holden was the first to notice the new arrivals. He had just come out of the house and saw the limousine in the driveway. Holden started to walk over to see who it was when Luke stepped out of the vehicle. He ran up to greet his son. Noah was still in inside about ready to start passing the kids to Luke.

"What are you doing here?"

"We came for a visit."

"Hi Dad," Noah said from inside the limousine. "I'm getting the kids out of their car seats."

Holden was so excited that he almost crawled into the limousine but Noah started to hand Luke the babies before he could.

"They're getting so big," Holden said with surprise about how much they have grown in the two months since he had seen them last.

"They are crawling a little now and about ready to start talking." Luke handed Harvey and Emma over to Holden to hold.

Holden's face lit up like a light bulb at holding two of his grandchildren. He gave each one a kiss on the cheek as he welcomed them to the farm. The look on Holden's face was priceless, so Luke took out his cell phone and snapped a quick picture. Noah handed out Charlene and Bradley to Luke and finally got out of the limousine. Noah gave Holden a loose quick hug before taking Bradley from Luke's arms. Holden stepped up to Charlene and gave her a kiss and did the same to Bradley. Bradley started fussing because he wanted his grandpa. They started to walk to the house as the driver was getting their luggage out of the car.

"The house looks great," Luke was still observing all the renovations.

"It is great. I wonder how we all lived in it for so long as small as it was," Holden laughed.

Both Luke and Noah's heads were going side to side to look at everything as they stepped onto the new porch. Luke opened the kitchen door and walked into a new gourmet kitchen, which looked similar to their own kitchen. He was going to look around but he was startled by a scream. He looked over and saw a surprised look on his grandma's face. She rushed over and took Charlene and Bradley from Luke and Noah's arms and sat down on a kitchen chair, kissing and hugging both babies over and over.

Hearing the scream, Jack, Carly holding Finn and Lily come running into the kitchen to see what had startled Emma. To their shock, they saw Emma and Holden holding two babies each. Lily rushed over to Holden, grabbed a baby from his arm and sat down next to Emma. Holden walked over and sat down as Jack and Carly surrounded them cooing at the babies.

"Um . . . hi?" Noah stuttered as he and Luke were ignored. He nudged Luke. "It's like nobody cares that we are here."

"Should we be upset?" Luke teased.

"Nah, let's look around while everyone is occupied with the babies."

They looked around quickly at the renovations made to the house on the first floor and then returned into the kitchen. Nobody had moved. Luke walked up to Emma and took Bradley from her arms. Emma was not exactly pleased but she gave him up.

"He is so cute, Luke. They all are." Carly watched Luke take the baby from Emma.

"Jack, this little guy is named Bradley Walsh Snyder," Luke said proudly as he stepped up to Jack and Carly. Jack took the baby named after his brother and held him. Luke took Finn from Carly's arms.

"Hey, little guy. You look a little like your namesake," Jack said as Carly tickled his little chin.

"Acts like him too." Seeing the looks he was getting from Jack and Carly, Noah continued. "He likes to pee on us when we are changing him."

Carly and Jack burst out laughing.

"Yeah, that's Brad," Jack chuckled.

Noah walked over and took Harvey out of Lily's arms and placed him in Carly's arms. "This little guy is Harvey Bryant."

They spent the next fifteen minutes switching babies back and forth between them all when Lucinda and John walked in the front door. "There you are," Lucinda said in an exasperated tone.

"Grandmother, how did you know we were here?"

"Imagine my surprise when I asked for _my_ plane to be ready for a meeting in New York and I'm told that it's on its way back from California."

"Oops!" gulped Luke. "We wanted to surprise everyone."

"Its okay darling but I better be holding one of my great grandchildren very soon," her voice meant business.

Emma laughed and handed Emma Rose over to Lucinda. "We can have everyone over tonight to welcome the babies to the farm." She was all excited and started planning dinner.

John was handed Charlene. "So is she the loudest?" Luke and Noah both shook their head yes. "I knew it," laughed John. Lucinda looked at her husband with a warning glance.

There was a knock on the kitchen door. Luke was the closest, so he walked over, opened it and saw Kim and Bob standing on the porch. "Come on in." Luke was happy to see them. "What are you doing out here?"

"Lucinda told us you were here after we had a board meeting and I couldn't resist seeing the kids," exclaimed Kim. "All she does is brag about them."

Noah walked up holding Harvey. "This is the oldest. Harvey Bryant." He handed the baby to Kim to hold and walked away with Bob to introduce him to rest of the kids.

"After your great grandfather?" asked Kim. Luke shook his head. "Harvey was a wonderful man." She moved over to a chair and sat down.

"You knew Grandpa?" Luke was surprised.

"Sure. We all did. He was loving, kind, generous," Kim looked around to make sure nobody was listening to them. "And he was handsome."

Luke laughed. He always wished he knew his great-great-grandfather.

"You should have pictures of everyone you named the kids after in the nursery."

"That's a great idea," Luke wondered why they hadn't thought of that. Luke excused himself and wandered off to see who was crying.

Noah brought over Emma Rose and two bottles. "Would you like to feed Emma, Kim?"

"Of course I would," Kim, who was sitting in a chair in the kitchen, replied with excitement.

Kim and Noah switched babies and he gave Kim a bottle and a burping cloth. He sat down to feed Harvey but something interrupted him.

"Da," Harvey babbled. It wasn't overly clear but Noah and Kim heard it.

"Luke, did you hear that?" Noah asked with excitement in his voice.

"No," as he came over to sit next to Noah.

"Da," Harvey made the same sound again.

Luke was so excited at his son's first word. He pulled out his phone to record video of it. It was the first word they understood from any of their babies. "Did you hear that everyone?" Luke said aloud. "Harvey just said his very first word." Everyone crowded around Noah and Harvey.

"Da," Harvey said again and then began to cry. He was hungry.

"Did you hear that?"

"You're such a good boy, Harvey," Noah praised his son as he gave him a bottle. "That was his first screen test." Noah joked, eliciting a roar of laughter from everyone in the kitchen.

Luke was mixing some baby cereal with a little formula, when he noticed Bob feeding Bradley and walked over to him. "How's he doing Doc?"

"He's just fine, Luke. How big was he when he was born?" asked Bob.

"Three pounds eight ounces and fourteen inches long. The other three were a little bit over four pounds and fifteen or sixteen inches long," replied Luke.

"He's catching up. He has a strong grip and his reflexes are great, he follows visual and audible stimuli. He's a healthy boy."

"Aren't you supposed to be retired?" teased Luke.

"Don't tell my wife!" laughed Bob.

"We went to our pediatrician yesterday and he said we can start the babies on solid foods," Luke mixed some baby cereal with a little warm formula so it was soupy.

Bradley took a little cereal, with the grandparents all watching with concern. He wasn't quite sure what to do with it but he did seem to swallow it without too much trouble. Luke gave him a second and he did the same thing. Luke praised him. Bradley however didn't want a third spoon but it was a good first try. Emma didn't want anything to do with it and spit it out. Charlene took one spoon and Harvey had two spoons. Everyone seemed thrilled with the babies first taste of solid food, so Luke was relaxed about it.

Everyone who wasn't feeding a baby was put to work. One of the new rooms was moved around for Luke, Noah and the kids. The luggage was put in the room and a portable crib was setup. Everyone made phone calls to family to see who is going to show up. The ones not moving Luke and Noah's stuff were helping Emma in the kitchen or were sent to the store to gather supplies. Emma had just put in five pies into the oven. Emma was not the one to brag about the upgrade but Luke did notice that his grandma had a stove similar to theirs. It was the smaller version. It had six burners, grill and griddle with three ovens.

Luke and Noah laid the kids down for a nap in their room. They loved to stand next to the crib and watch them fall asleep. They decided to go down and help Grandma in the kitchen so they gave their kids one last look, grabbed the monitor and then walked down to the kitchen. Emma gladly accepted extra pairs of helping hands and immediately put Luke and Noah to work preparing the salad.

When they were about done with making the salad, Ethan and Natalie walked into the house. Ethan headed directly for Noah. He was almost a teenager but Noah was still really important to him. After he hugged Noah he went over and hugged Luke as Natalie hugged Noah. The four of them talked while Luke and Noah finished the salad.

When dinner was ready, they all sat down and had a great time catching up with everyone. They had just finished having a piece of Emma's pie when they heard a baby's cry on the monitor . . . and then a second one. Luke and Noah headed upstairs while everyone else cleared the table and loaded the dishwashers. They came down stairs about fifteen minutes later with all four kids. They were changed and wanted to be entertained. Lily wanted to hold Charlene but the rest of the babies were put on the floor to show everyone their new crawling abilities. Luke wasn't surprised when Bradley awkwardly crawled his way over to Holden, who was sitting next to Jack. The look of joy on his face as his grandfather picked him up was only outdone by the look of joy on his grandfather's face.

"That boy is definitely a Snyder," Emma said confidently.

"Grandma, they are all Snyders," replied Luke.

"I know that dear, I mean his spirit. He's going to be a handful as he grows up."

Luke and Noah made sure that everyone had a chance to hold the babies, including Ethan and Natalie. At eight o'clock, Luke and Noah passed around bottles. Noah took Luke aside and secretly whispered something to him. It was clear, by their smiles, they were plotting something.

When it came time to get everyone to be changed for bed, Luke asked Holden and Jack if they would like to change Bradley, they both said yes. As they walked up stairs, Luke and Noah high fived and called everyone in the house over to listen to the baby monitor. Katie, Jacob, Chris, Bob and Kim were just about to leave but came back to listen.

"What's going on?" asked Kim.

"Just listen," Noah chuckled.

On the monitor, they could hear Holden and Jack, upstairs, talking while Bradley was cooing.

Noah said. "Now listen carefully."

"Hey, little guy, let's take off those clothes and put you into pajamas after we change you," Holden said.

They could hear some shuffling. "I found them," Jack replied.

They could hear the diaper fasteners being ripped from the diaper and the diaper being taken off.

"Jack, hand me a wipe," asked Holden. "You're being such a good . . ."

Over the monitor, they heard a laugh from Bradley and then all sort of commotion could be heard from upstairs.

"Ahh . . . watch out," Jack yelled. "Right in my eye."

"Cover it . . . cover it," yelled Holden. "Oh . . . it's everywhere."

Everyone in the living room busted out laughing.

"I totally forgot they said . . . wait, those little shits you call sons knew this was going to happen," Jack complained.

"LUKE!" Holden yelled out.

Everyone listening to the monitor in the living room started laughing all again. Lucinda, Kim and Bob had to sit down, they were laughing so hard . . . Carly almost peed herself and had to rush off to the bathroom, and Emma really did not even care that Jack swore.

Over the monitor, they could hear little Bradley start to laugh.

"Hey little guy, you're not supposed to pee on your grandpa," Holden laughed. "Your daddies are _bad_ boys. They are going to get grounded when we go downstairs."

"Did you hear him laugh at us?I swear Holden, he is just like Brad."

Everyone heard Jack and Holden coming down stairs and took their seat acting like nothing happened. When Jack and Holden came into the living room, visible wet spots on their shirts elicited roars laughter again. Noah took a picture of it with his camera.

"You are so grounded, young man," laughed Holden as he gave Bradley to Luke.

"Dad, I'm almost thirty."

"Mamma still grounds me!" complained Holden.

Emma just shook her head yes and laughed. "But you always deserve it." Laughter, once again, broke out in the living room.

Once the laughter calmed down, everyone who was leaving said their goodbyes for the night. John left to get some clothes for them since Lucinda wanted to spend the night at the farm, to be with the babies. Luke and Noah took the three babies upstairs to their bedroom with help from Lily and Emma, to get changed for bed. They came back down and gave them their last bottle for the night. Holden gave Bradley his bottle. When they were done and the kids were put to bed, everyone sat in the living room for a while. Noah brought down three packages with him and with the family gathered in the living room again, Luke gave one package to Lucinda, Emma and to his parents.

"What's this?" asked Lucinda.

"Open it."

They opened the box to find an electronic picture frame. When Emma plugged hers in, pictures of her holding the babies in the hospital along with pictures of Lily, Holden, Luke, Noah and Lucinda were flashing across the screen every ten seconds. After talking for another hour, they all went to bed, except for Luke and Noah. They took a romantic moonlight stroll around the pond before going to bed.

Luke, Noah and the babies stayed in Oakdale for four more days before they returned home to Los Angeles. Virtually all of their friends moved away from Oakdale but they did take the kids to Al's and to their favorite bench in Old Town. They found it totally weird when people asked them for their autograph. They were famous after all.


	7. Chapter 7

Two days before Luke and Noah's wedding anniversary, Luke woke up out of a dead sleep about six o'clock in the morning. He heard coughing over the baby monitor.

He started nudging Noah. "Wake up, Noah."

"What's wrong?" Noah moaned.

"I heard coughing over the baby monitor. Something's wrong. I can just feel it," Luke was beginning to freak out a little.

Noah has never seen Luke this agitated before so he got out of bed and rushed into the nursery. Noah dimmed the overhead light before turned it on, so they could see but not wake up the babies. Charlene, Emma and Harvey were sleeping peacefully but Bradley seemed to be breathing a bit quick.

"Something's wrong with Bradley!" Luke picked him up carefully and placed him in his arms. "Noah, he feels warm."

They took him out of the nursery and into the bathroom. Noah grabbed a thermometer from the cabinet, put a cap on the end and placed the unit into Bradley's ear. It beeped within a second.

"It is 100.2 degrees," Noah thought quickly about what they learned in the parenting classes and his mind came to pneumonia. "I think we should call Dr. Fish."

"Okay," Luke agreed.

Noah ran out of the room to get his cellphone from his bedside table. Noah dialed the phone as he ran back into the bathroom.

"Good morning, this is Dr. Fish service my name is Cheryl. Is this an emergency?"

"Not sure. My baby's breathing is quick and labored and he has a 100.2 degree temperature. I think he might be pneumonia."

Luke looked with fear at Noah when he said pneumonia. He thought about it for a second and agreed with Noah's layman diagnosis.

"What's the baby's name?"

"Bradley Snyder. He's about eight months old," Noah looked at Luke. "Luke, let's get him away from the others." They walked out of the nursery bathroom and into their bedroom.

"You have other kids?"

"Yes, we have four eight month olds. They sleep in the same crib. The rest seem fine."

"For the time being, please keep him separated him from the others. Dr. Fish will be leaving his house soon to do hospital rounds. Please hold, I'll see if I can contact him."

Noah related his conversation with Cheryl to Luke. Bradley coughed again. It seemed like hours to Luke and Noah but Cheryl came back on the phone within a few minutes.

"I have Dr. Fish, I'll conference him in."

"Thank you."

"Noah, this is Dr. Fish. What's going on with Bradley?"

Noah explained all the symptoms. "If I'm remembering correctly from parenting classes, it looks like it could be pneumonia."

"That is what it sounds like it might be. Do his finger nails or lips look bluish?"

Noah checked. "There is a slight bluish tint."

"I want you to bring him to the hospital now, on fourth floor. I'm on my way to the hospital now and I'll take a look at him."

"Okay, I'll have Luke and Bradley on their way in about five minutes."

"Good. See you then. As a precaution, move the other kids out of the crib and change the bedding. If this does turn out to be pneumonia, I'll need to see the other kids too, just to be safe."

"Okay. I'll have Luke on the road in five minutes," he repeated again. He said goodbye to the doctor and hung up. "We need to take him to the hospital on the fourth floor. Dr. Fish will be there."

Luke handed Bradley over to Noah as he washed up and then started to get changed. Noah called the baby service to have someone come over to watch the babies so he could go to the hospital. He buckled Bradley into one of the Escalades car seats as Luke came running out of the house.

"Do you have your wallet and phone?"

"Yes."

Noah pulled Luke into a hug. "Don't rush, Luke. I do not want you to have an accident on the way."

"Okay."

They kissed and Luke pulled out of the hug, climbed into the Escalade and backed out of the garage and got underway to the hospital.

Noah, trying to remain calm, went inside the house and into his bathroom, stripped off his shirt and washed up good and dried off. He then took a few disinfectant baby wipes and ran them over his hands and arms. He went into the nursery and moved the other crib next to the one the babies were sleeping in. He got clean sheets and a blanket and moved the kids one by one into the new crib. Harvey woke up but fell back to sleep almost immediately.

He took the sheets and blankets off the bed and put them in a garbage bag and put it in the hall. He then started to clean the rockers when he heard the chime go off signaling someone was at the gate. They had a security pad put in the nursery, just in case of an emergency. Noah saw it was Shirley's car and it was coming through the gate, he continued cleaning until Shirley walked into the nursery.

"Noah, what's going on? They told me there was an emergency," Shirley asked with a worried voice.

"Luke took Bradley to the hospital with some breathing issues. There is a chance he may have pneumonia."

"He seemed fine when we put him to bed," she thought for a moment. "Go be with him. I'll take care of things here."

"I've already moved the kids to the other crib and the old bed sheets are in the hall in the bag. I think, just in case, we need to wipe down anything he could have touched or put in his mouth, so the other kids won't get sick. Everyone's sippy cups and binky's too."

"Good idea. We will take care of it."

"Thanks for coming in, Shirley. Dr. Fish may want to see the other kids. If any of them start coughing or get a temperature, call us immediately."

"We certainly will. As close as the kids are all the time, there is a good chance it could happen."

Noah shivered at the thought and left the room to take a quick shower. Noah was in and out of the shower very quickly. He grabbed a spare change of clothes for Luke and headed off to the hospital.

-P-

Luke walked onto the fourth floor and was met by June, head nurse. She put a tag on Bradley's arm and explained to Luke that everyone needed to have a gown and gloves on as she guided him into a quarantine room to wait for Dr. Fish. She finished taking Bradley's vitals as Dr. Fish walked into the room with a blue gown on and looked at the chart.

"What are his symptoms, Luke?"

"He seemed fine when we went to bed but I heard him coughing. He had a 100.2 degree temperature and he is breathing faster than normal."

Dr. Fish put a stethoscope to Bradley's chest and listened in a few places. As if on cue, Bradley coughed. He moved the stethoscope to Bradley's back and listened to a few places. "How are the other kids?"

"They were sleeping when I left, they seem fine. Noah moved them to a different crib and we are going to have everything cleaned, just to be on the safe side. He should be here soon. We had to call a sitter."

"He does have some fluid in his lungs and his temperature is up to 102 now," Dr. Fish turned and looked at June. "Let's take a blood sample and get an x-ray but it does look like bacterial pneumonia. We will need an intravenous drip and his lips and finger nails are slightly blue. If he coughs up anything, save it, we can get it tested." June left the room in a hurry after Dr. Fish finished his instructions.

Luke was horrified and slightly panicked. This was the first time one of the kids had gotten sick other than some sniffles and diarrhea. Luke hasn't gotten over the loss of the two babies in the womb, now this. He needed Noah. Noah knew exactly what to say to him. The more he thought, the more panicked he became.

Dr. Fish noticed Luke's panicked look. "Try to relax, Luke. You got him here quickly. We will run these tests now and we will put him on an antibiotic drip immediately when he gets back from x-ray."

Luke tried to relax but he needed Noah. "Where is he?" he asked himself.

June left and came back with the required vials she will need for the blood work. Luke jumped when Bradley started crying when she stuck him with a needle.

Dr. Fish continued. "We will need to watch the other kids for any signs. It's just our luck. Your appointment next week would have vaccinated them for pneumonia since they are big enough now but even with the vaccine it doesn't stop all cases."

June finished drawing his blood and was ready to take him to x-ray. The doctor left and June and Luke took Bradley to radiology to get an x-ray done. As soon as they got to the x-ray room, they took him in right away. June left and dropped off the blood work to the lab. The x-ray confirmed that he had a minor fluid in his lungs. After they got back to isolation room, June gave Dr. Fish the results. An IV with an antibiotic was put in his arm and the waiting started.

After Luke calmed Bradley down after the IV was put in his arm and oxygen mask placed on his face, he made a call to Noah to tell him the diagnosis. Noah was just about ready to leave the house. When he hung up the phone he dialed another number.

-P-

It was about seven o'clock in the morning in Oakdale. Lily was just cleaning up the kitchen when her cellphone rang. Lily answered the phone and Luke exhaled, "Mom."

Lily knew immediately something was wrong by the sound of his voice. "What is it, Luke?"

"I'm at the hospital. It's Bradley, he has pneumonia."

"Is he going to be okay?" Lily asked quickly.

"He's on an intravenous antibiotic and he has a temperature of 102 degrees."

"How are you doing?"

"I am so scared," Luke began to cry.

Lily could feel his pain over the phone. "Where is Noah?"

"He's on his way in. He had to stay and watch the kids until we could get someone to come over."

"How's Bradley now?"

Luke got up, took off his gown and stood by the door, praying Noah would walk off the elevator. Luke looked over at the bassinet. "He's sleeping." He looked back towards the elevator and saw Noah get off looking up and down the hall. Luke ran out of the room holding his phone and ran down the hall into Noah's arms.

"I'm so glad you're here, Noah," Luke broke down crying in Noah's arms.

-P-

Lily hung up the phone after a few minutes of hearing Luke crying in Noah's arms, figuring that Luke probably forgot he was on the phone. She immediately called Holden's cell phone.

"I should be done soon, Lily," Holden said without prompting.

"I didn't call about that. Bradley is in the hospital with pneumonia."

Holden was shocked. He didn't say anything for a minute. Tears came to his eyes as he thought about was his poor little grandson.

Lily knew Holden would be upset. After a long pause, she attempted to get Holden's attention. "Holden . . . are you there?"

"Yes, sorry, is he going to be okay?" wiping away his tears.

"He has a fever and he's on an antibiotic but Luke is scared. I just heard him cry in Noah's arms. I didn't get a chance to talk to Noah. I bet he's scared too."

"Call Wesley and Lucinda and pack our bags. We will pick you up. We are going to Los Angeles."

A half hour later, Holden came running in the door and up the stairs to take a quick shower. Lily could tell he had been crying. Emma walked in after Holden and confirmed it. They met Lucinda at the airport and were on their way to Los Angeles at the fastest possible speed the plane could safely fly.

-P-

Noah pulled his arms around Luke to comfort him. In all the years, he had only known one time were Luke was more devastated. That was when Holden was declared dead in Kentucky. Noah started to panic. "Bradley . . . did he . . .?"

Luke figured out why Noah was panicking. "No, he's holding his own."

Noah was relieved but agitated. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry, it's just so hard to see him hooked up to all the equipment." Luke's eyes went wide, "What happens if . . .?"

"No, Luke, don't even think about it."

"I'm scared, Noah. I'm really scared."

"We need to be calm and we need to be there for Bradley. He must be scared here in the hospital by himself. The quads are always together."

Luke tried to calm down. "One of us needs to be with him."

"I agree. Let's go seem him now." Noah wanted to see his son.

Luke walked him down the hall and they went into Bradley's room. Tears fell from his eyes as he saw his son lying in the large bassinet. Noah put a gown and gloves on and then went over and touched his son. "Bradley, it's dad. You get all better and we will take you home to your brother and sisters, okay?" Luke came up and hugged his husband from behind. Noah could feel his back getting wet.

-P-

Three hours later, Lily, Holden, Emma and Lucinda walked quickly into the hospital when Lily saw George Smith, the hospital administrator, talking to someone across the lobby.

"George!" Lily yelled loudly and waved her arm wildly about.

George looked over and saw Lily waving to him. George excused himself and walked toward Lily as she walked quickly over to him.

"Our grandson is here with pneumonia and we don't know where he is."

"Probably on the fourth floor, follow me."

They all ran over to the elevator and went up the fourth floor. While on the elevator, he checked his tablet computer and sure enough, they were on the fourth floor. When they got off the elevator, George went right over to the nurses' station and asked if they could page Dr. Fish.

He turned back to Lily. "This way." He started walking down the hall with everyone following him.

Noah looked up to see Lily, Holden, Emma and Lucinda standing out in the hall with George. "Luke your family is here."

"What?" Luke was shocked as he looked around and saw his family standing in the hallway.

They both stood up and walked out of the room as they took off their gowns and gloves.

"What are you guys doing here?" Luke asked as he hugged Lily. He was so happy they were there.

"We came to see our grandson. How is he?" asked Emma.

"The same," Noah replied as he hugged Lucinda.

"It will be okay, darling," she said confidently.

"It's the first time any of them have gotten sick. I guess I kind of freaked out," Luke said with a little embarrassment.

Dr. Fish walked up to them. "I see the cavalry has gotten here."

"Could you please explain his condition the cavalry please?" George asked.

"Luke brought in Bradley about four hours ago. Bradley breathing had increased above normal levels and he had a 102 degree fever when he arrived. An x-ray showed some fluid in the lungs and the blood tests confirmed that it's bacterial pneumonia. He has been on oxygen and an antibiotic intravenous drip for about three hours now. No real sign of improvement yet but it is still a bit early."

Everyone started peppering Dr. Fish with questions but Lucinda interrupted everyone. "I want no expense spared when it comes to treating my great-grandson. If you feel you need to bring someone in . . . ."

"Grandmother!" Luke replied sternly.

"It's okay, Luke," Dr. Fish laughed at Lucinda's boldness. "I am the best." He said with full confidence.

Lucinda looked at George who began to shake his head. "Cedars-Sinai only hires the best, Ms. Walsh. Dr. Fish is a leader in his field. You may only find a few people who are better in the world."

"Good. I want no expense spared. Is that clear?"

Dr. Fish and George both answered simultaneously. "Yes, ma'am."

Noah walked up beside Lucinda and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you." Lucinda pulled him into a big hug.

"If you need to check up on your other kids, we can page you if there is any change . . . ," George started to say but he was interrupted quickly.

"We are _not_ leaving our baby here alone!" Noah replied forcefully.

"One of us is going to be here at times." Luke totally agreed.

"I'll see if one of the suites is open," George took out his tablet computer he was carrying and typed on it for a few seconds. "Yes, we have six of them open for now. We can let you stay in one, if you like. It's down the hall."

"That would be great," Luke thanked George.

"We will take care of the kids, so you can be here," replied Emma.

"Thanks Grandma," Luke hugged Emma. "They must be wondering why Bradley isn't there with them."

-P-

Noah noticed that Holden kept looking into the room that Bradley was in. Noah hugged Holden and spoke softly. "Do you want to go in?"

"Yes," replied Holden with some trepidation in his voice.

Noah and Holden walked into the room, put on gowns and gloves and walked over to the large bassinet that held Bradley.

Holden was shocked to see his favorite grandson "Hey little buddy, it's Grandpa." After a few minutes Holden stood with his back facing the door and started crying. Noah moved over and pulled him into a hug.

"It will be okay, Dad. He will pull through. Remember, he's a Snyder and he's scrappy."

Holden chuckled through his tears. "He was finally beginning to catch up with his siblings and now this."

-P-

"I completely understand now why you were so frantic with my kidney operation. I didn't quite get it until now." Luke said to his mother. "Have I ever apologized for all the grief I put you and Dad through during that time?"

"There is no need to apologize. When you are a parent, you would do anything to make sure your kids are okay, even making some seemly bad decisions at times but I do not regret anything. Those decisions are the reason why you are still here."

"It seemed like the world was going to end at the time." Luke shook his head as he's thought back to his younger years. "I apologize for being so harsh back then." Luke hugged his mom. He moved his head to the side to look at what his Dad and Noah were doing and saw his father crying and Noah trying to comfort him. "Look at Dad," Luke said sadly.

Lily looked in the room and saw Noah comforting her husband. "He was crying on the phone when I told him. You know, he loves all his grandkids but there is something about Bradley that's captured his heart."

"It's the same for Bradley too, I think," laughed Luke.

"He's a Snyder and the Snyders are stubborn as mules. He won't give up easily," Lily chuckled. Luke grinned at the thought.

-P-

Each of the grandparents spent time with Bradley and gave him encouragement before they left to go to the house to see the rest of their grandkids for the evening. The nannies told the grandparents about the three kids looking around to see where Bradley was and when they could, they went searching for him. It took two days before Bradley's fever broke and when it did, everyone sighed with relief. Three days later, he was released from the hospital but had to be isolated for a few more days in the second nursery.

Holden and Lucinda returned to Oakdale while Lily and Emma stayed in Beverly Hills to help out. Four days later, Bradley was healthy enough to be reunited with the other kids, who welcomed him back with open arms. They all wanted to snuggle with him when they took naps and when it was time for bed. Lily and Emma left after two weeks of being in Los Angeles.


	8. Chapter 8

It was nearing the kids first birthday. Noah had gone back to work on his new movie and Luke has been working part of each day on his new book idea. A series of children's books which were based at the Snyder farm.

Luke and Noah had convinced everyone to come out for the first birthday, which meant they would be having Christmas in California. Luke and Noah decided to get a huge tree that was pre-wrapped with lights and put it in the lounge area that was off of the living room, in the front window. The pillows on the couches and chairs all were Christmas themed or colored. Red poinsettia plants, because they looked the best in the house, were lining all the mantles with a few different colored poinsettias for accents and all the large chandeliers had different Christmas colored shades on them.

They had Gino put lights in about a dozen of the palm trees, as the previous owners did. Each tree was a different color. They put up all the outside decoration that the previous owner left. Inside, they decorated the house sparsely with decorations from a second hand shop that had simple vintage decorations that went well with the house. The sales lady called them retro but they had to laugh when they realized that some of the ornaments they remembered seeing as kids. Luke remembered them being on his Grandma's tree.

"Are we retro already?" laughed Noah.

"If we are, retro is extremely hot!" Luke winked. Noah had to agree.

They hung a huge pine wreath on the front door and a wreath in virtually every main room. It was hard for Luke to think this was Christmas still. He kept wondering when it would snow. Noah had been in the south for many Christmases so it wasn't a huge shock for him.

Luke and Noah decided to buy themselves one big gift for the both of them with one smaller one to open up on Christmas day but when Lily found out that they had decided to buy fine silver, crystal and china for their Christmas gifts, she insisted that Lucinda, Emma, Holden and herself help in the purchase.

Luke and Noah really liked Kate Spade designs and hoped they could mix and match, so they went with Lenox. They found a designer who knew Lenox china and worked with her to bring in a few basic sets, including Blue Frost, which was their favorite that would be fancy enough for Beverly Hills folks. They picked up some accent sets, some solid colors and a few tropical type florals, to spice things up a bit when they wanted. The designer showed them the different settings they could make. Noah had the idea to take a picture of each of the settings, for future reference. They purchased a set called Merry Berry for Christmas, which would look great mixed in on the table.

Luke and Noah also splurged on crystal and coffee cups and mugs for the table and wet bar, plus silver for the table and vases for around the house. It was some sort of good luck for them to have bought a house that was basically furnished, since just looking at plates, glasses and silver drove them both crazy but at least the hutches and the dish room didn't look empty anymore. They almost had a heart attack when they saw the bill but realized that they would have these settings for a long time.

The kids were growing like weeds. They were all around fifteen pounds, drinking from sippy cups and using one-syllable words. They were beginning to walk and they loved playing with blocks, buckets, pots and pans.

Rose had come by earlier in the day to drop off presents for Luke, Noah and the kids since she was going to be out of town to her parents' house on the kids' birthday. She stayed and played with the kids for a couple of hours. Rose had remained a very important person in their lives and would remain so.

-P-

The tree was just put up and they were just ready to plug it in and start decorating it when two limousines pulled up outside. Luke and Noah ran outside and hugged everyone as they stepped out of the limo.

"Where are the kids?" asked Lily as she hugged Luke.

"They are taking a nap. April and Shirley are watching them. Can you help us with them while you are here?"

"You know we will. We would be hurt if we couldn't."

"Noah and I wanted to give the nannies the holiday off with pay, of course."

"I think that's a great idea," replied Emma embracing her grandson.

Luke went on to hug Holden, Faith, Natalie and Ethan, who was hanging onto Noah, Lucinda and John. Just as they were getting ready to head inside, a car pulled up next to the limousines. Everyone was surprised when Abigail and her husband Ben and Aaron and his wife Tamera stepped out of the car. Everyone that is but Noah.

"What are you all doing here? We didn't think you were able to make it," asked Emma as she hugged all of them.

"Noah convinced us that we couldn't miss this Christmas with everyone," replied Aaron as he hugged his father.

Luke and Noah stayed back while everyone was hugging them. They saw Abigail and Ben at least once every month or two and Aaron and Tamera at least every three months. Before the kids, they would switch each visit. Luke and Noah loved traveling to San Francisco and Seattle. They would always have a new restaurant to eat at. They were usually the more out of the way, smaller, unusual places, that you wouldn't think would serve great food. It was fun for all the couples. Now everyone visited Luke and Noah's.

After everyone greeted each other, they walked into the house. Lily, Emma, Holden and Lucinda grabbed Luke and Noah and kept on walking towards the nursery. They wanted to see the kids.

Before they were dragged out of the room, Luke was able to say. "Go into the lounge and see the tree. We were just about to decorate it."

-P-

As they walked into the nursery, April and Shirley had just finished changing Harvey and Charlene as Bradley and Emma were standing up in the crib crying.

Luke went over to the crib and picked up Emma. "What is it baby?"

"Dada," she cried as she put her head into his neck.

As soon as Bradley saw his Grandpa, he started smiling and raised his arms to be picked up. Holden walked over to the crib and picked him up and Bradley hugged his Grandpa as Holden hugged him. Everyone thought Grandpa was going to cry when his little voice said "Gampa."

"Hi April, Hi Shirley," Emma said. "Are you already for Christmas?"

"Oh, Emma, hi. Are you kidding?" Shirley replied with a laugh.

"No, Emma, not at all," April shook her head.

"Well, as soon as you're done here, you can leave and we will see you on January second."

April and Shirley handed the kids over to Lily and Emma. As soon as they were done cleaning up, they left after wishing everyone a happy holiday and receiving a bonus from Luke and Noah. Little Emma was passed from Luke to Lucinda. Lily, Emma and Lucinda almost cried when each of the babies said "Nana."

"They are so big."

"I know. They are growing like weeds," Luke admitted sadly.

The grandparents started swapping babies around but it was clear that while Bradley was happy to see everyone and gave out kisses and hugs to everyone, he wanted to be with his Grandpa. They brought the kids out into the lounge. Everyone crowded around and said hello to the kids. Luke brought in some lemonade and everyone sat down.

"I can't believe how they've grown," Lucinda groaned.

"Don't remind us. Take a look at this," Luke said as he took Bradley from his dad. He knelt down in front of his dad and put his standing son facing Holden. "Go say hi to Grandpa, Bradley."

Bradley put a huge smile on his face. "Gampa," he said as he started walking towards Holden while Luke was balancing him.

Holden picked him up when Bradley touched his legs and pulled him into a hug. "That's good boy, Bradley. I'm so proud of you." Bradley smiled at the praise and hugged his Grandpa.

Lily was surprised like everyone was. "Can they all walk?"

"Yes, they started to walk after Bradley was sick," replied a proud Noah.

They watched each of the kids walk. Charlene, Harvey and Emma didn't need much help as they walked.

They spent the afternoon decorating the huge tree they purchased. Luke pulled out four Tiffany ornaments they had picked up to commemorate the kids first Christmas and birthday and put them on the tree. When all the decorations were up, they realized that they did not get enough to fill the tree. Almost a third of the tree was bare, so they made popcorn and paper garland and strung them up to help fill up the spaces.

"Well, it's not Tiffany looking with the popcorn and paper but it looks great," laughed Luke.

"We used to do that every year when I was a kid, since we couldn't really afford to buy anything to put on the tree. We had to make our own ornaments to decorate," exclaimed Emma.

"I think next year, we will get a smaller tree."

"It's huge. What made you think about getting one so big?" asked John.

"Just our excitement, I guess. It's beautiful but I think a twelve foot tree would be a better choice next year."

After the tree was trimmed, Ethan, Natalie and Faith wanted to go swimming. It was about seventy degrees out but the pool was heated. Aaron, John, Ben and Holden decided the hot tub would be better for them. Noah gave each one of them a beer before they got into the hot tub.

About an hour later, Luke and Noah started the grill. They had a charcoal and a gas grill. They decided to use the charcoal for the flavor and smell. The potatoes were wrapped in tinfoil and buried in the briquettes before Noah lit them. A half hour later, Noah was cooking the steaks and chicken on the grill. The men gathered around to help him. In the house, Luke was making a salad for the adults and some cooked carrots for the kids.

They hung up the stockings on the fireplace before they went to bed. The next day, Christmas Eve, Emma made some pies and cookies. Luke and Noah made sure the dining room was ready for Christmas Eve meal, while trying to visit with everyone. They went out to lunch at a restaurant in Hollywood and watched the stars run by doing their last minute Christmas shopping.

Luke and Noah woke up early on Christmas morning. They spend the first minutes of their morning wishing each other a Merry Christmas with a kisses and I love yous before they got out of bed and into the shower, since they had a busy day. They were delayed in the shower a little longer than they expected but were soon dried off and dressed.

Luke and Noah walked out of their bedroom and walked to the lounge and turned on the tree lights. They put out the presents and stuffed the stockings last night before they went to bed. After checking to make sure all the presents were under the tree, they started getting everything ready for breakfast. They were cutting up some fresh fruit in small chucks for the kids and larger chunks for the adults when Ethan ran into the kitchen and hugged Luke. "Merry Christmas, Luke."

"Merry Christmas, Ethan," Luke hugged Ethan back.

Ethan pulled out of his brother's embrace and ran over and hugged Noah. "Merry Christmas, Noah. Has Santa been here?"

Noah hugged Ethan back. "I don't know. Shall we go check?"

"Yes!" Ethan pulled them both into the lounge. Ethan was surprised by the amount of gifts under the huge tree.

"I wonder if any of those are for you?" teased Luke.

Ethan jumped over the baby fence and started rooting through the gifts to see if any had his name on it. "Here's one from you and Noah." He shook it.

"Don't shake it," warned Noah. "All the liquid snot will leak out."

"Awesome!" yelled Ethan. He knew Noah was teasing him. Luke and Noah laughed at his response.

-P-

Everyone started filtering down stairs but the kids started crying, so Luke and Noah went to take care of them. When the kids saw their parents walk into the nursery, they called out to them.

"Happy birthday, pumpkins," they said as they kissed their kids good morning. Luke stayed with the kids as Noah went to get their morning milk in their sippy cups. They planned to give them a bath after the presents and breakfast, so they just changed their diapers, washed them up with a wash cloth and put on their Christmas morning clothes.

"Can you believe it Noah?" asked Luke. "A year ago, we were in the hospital wondering if they'd all be safe and now a year has gone by already."

"I know. It has gone by so fast," Noah grimaced as he pulled off a full diaper. "Although, it can hurry up so we wouldn't have to change stinky diapers anymore, then slow down."

Luke laughed at him. "You better not talk that way. In a couple of years, we will be wishing they were still in diapers."

Noah knew it was true but when you're in the middle of the diaper phase, things look and smell differently.

Lily walked into the nursery as Luke had finished putting Charlene's holiday outfit on. They all had the same outfit. Green and white stripped pants with a white a shirt with red stripped arms and on the shirts they had Grandma's favorite embroidered on them, except for Bradley's who had Grandpa's favorite on his.

Luke handed the baby to Lily. "Aww . . . she looks so cute."

"Nana," said Charlene with a happy smile on her face.

"Good morning, sweetie," Lily's eyes filled with tears as she hugged and gave her a kiss. She was still very emotional with the babies. "I can't believe it's been a year already."

"We were just saying that but Noah wants it to speed up time until they get out of the stinky diaper phase," Luke pulled off Harvey's diaper and held his breath. "On second thought, that sounds like a great idea." Noah and Lily laughed at Luke.

When Noah was done with Emma, he handed her to Lily and picked up Bradley who was standing in the crib waiting his turn, drinking his sippy cup.

"Good morning, big boy."

"Dada," Bradley smiled at his dad as Noah pulled him into a hug.

Lucinda walked into the nursery. "Good morning. How's the _brood_ this morning?" She walked over to kiss Emma and Charlene and wished them a happy birthday. Both of the girls called her Nana, which put a big grin on Lucinda's face. Lucinda took Emma from Lily's arm.

"It's looking pretty good so far. Nobody is fussing this morning." Luke was relieved.

Luke had finished with Harvey and they all waited until Noah was done with Bradley and they all went out to the kitchen, where everyone was having coffee and juice. Everyone wished the kids a Merry Christmas and a happy birthday while the remaining grandparents took the kids from Luke and Noah's arms. Luke and Noah filled up the sippy cups again and decided that since the kids weren't complaining, they should just open up presents first before they fed them.

The grandparents sat on the floor with the children as Luke and Noah handed out the presents and took pictures as the grandparents helped them open the presents. When they were about halfway done, the grandparents demanded they switch.

After all the Christmas bootie, um . . . presents were given out, everyone went around and thanked each other for the gifts. Faith and Natalie loved the new laptops and Ethan loved the new Nintendo DS. Everyone else received six one hundred dollars in gift certificates to restaurants they could go out to where they lived. Luke and Noah also gave Lucinda a check for two flights out to California, so they could all come out to visit.

Luke and Noah received money to help pay for the cost of baby supplies. Of course they got part of the bill paid for when they purchased the china, silver and crystal. Lily and Holden gave them two extra helpers twice a month, so they could go out on a date or to a movie by themselves. Emma gave Luke and Noah a copy of her recipes. It was the first time she had given her recipes to anyone but they had to promise that they couldn't share them with anyone outside the family. They readily agreed to her terms. Noah quickly looked to see if her oatmeal raisin cookie recipe was there and it was. He wanted to try them first.

The kids made out like bandits. Each present was either wrapped in a Christmas wrapping or a birthday wrapping. They received enough clothes to open up a boutique and enough toys to open up a toy store. When you timed everything by four, it looked like a lot sitting all there on the floor. Lucinda and John gave them each a trust fund, like all the grandkids had.

Abigail and Ben and Aaron and Tamera both announced that they were expecting about a month apart. Luke and Noah laughed when they figured out that both couples got pregnant about the time they visited them. Aaron joked that it must be something in the water.

-P-

After the presents were opened, Luke, Noah and Emma started breakfast for everyone. Lucinda, John, Lily and Holden fed the kids the cut up fresh fruit that Luke and Noah prepared before Ethan dragged them to see the presents. When the breakfast was ready, the scrambled eggs, ham slices, bacon, toast, french toast were put on the table for the adults. The kids were given some of the grown up food too, especially the eggs for the protein.

After breakfast, the grandparents gave the kids a bath and dressed them into their Christmas clothes, which were Santa outfits. They even had the red caps to wear. Luke started working on the Christmas dinner and Noah made the kids birthday cake from scratch. Emma nervously watched as the cake was being made. Neither Luke nor Noah were nervous since they had made a few cakes for practice. Soon, everything was in the oven. One of the things Luke and Noah continued to do, after the kids were born, was attend cooking class. It allowed them some free time and they usually went out to dinner afterwards.

The cake was pulled out first and cooled. Emma helped Luke and Noah put it together two pieces of cake since it was the first time they attempted putting together such a large cake. Luke then made the frosting and decorated it for the kids. Luke and Noah then setup the dining room with the new Lenox dishes they picked up.

Luke and Noah slipped off for some alone time before things had to be taken out for dinner. The turkey timer popped up and soon everyone sat down for Christmas dinner and the birthday party for the kids. They had opened up all the presents in the morning, so it was just singing and the cake.

Two days later, Noah gave everyone an exclusive VIP trip around the set to his new movie and the studio. It was pretty quiet, since virtually everything was on hiatus for the holidays.

Abigail and Ben and Aaron and Tamera both left the next day. They wanted to spend New Year's Eve with the other half of their family. The rest of the Snyders spent New Year's Eve at Luke and Noah's house, but they did go down to the clearing, at the bend in the driveway, to watch the fireworks display. On the second day of January, John, Lucinda and what was left of the Snyder clan left for Oakdale.


	9. Chapter 9

"Mom, Dad!" Luke yelled through the connecting hotel room. "Are the kids ready?"

"Almost," Lily yelled back.

Luke heard a joyful squeal from Bradley and saw him running from the connecting room naked. At the same time, Emma walked into Luke and Noah's room from the hotel hallway.

Noah knew what was coming. "Don't even . . . ."

Noah did not get a chance to finish because Bradley saw the open door and went for it. He squeezed past his grandma and ran down the hall squealing with laughter, naked as a jaybird.

Noah grabbed a nearby coat and ran down the hall quietly yelling for his son to stop.

Lily, Holden and Emma walked out of the suite and laughed as they watched Noah chasing their young grandson down the hotel hallway. Lucinda joined them after she walked out of her own suite. Luke wasn't laughing. He did however chuckle a few times.

Charlene walked out into the hall and looked at Bradley and her dad running down the hall. "Bradley, get back here!" she demanded as she stomped her foot, as only a girl can do. "Dad _has_ to do my hair!"

Harvey and little Emma ran out into the hall to see what everyone was looking at. They both giggled as their brother ran down the hall naked with their dad running after him. Harvey reached for the bottom of his shirt and Emma reached for the bottom of her dress but Luke knew what to expect.

"Don't you two even think about it!" Luke warned as he looked down at two of his children.

Harvey and Emma looked at their daddy with disappointment as they let go of their shirt and dress. Bradley was the instigator of the bunch while Harvey and Emma willingly followed him into trouble. Charlene was more cautious and wouldn't join in.

"He is definitely like his uncle Brad," laughed Holden.

The laughter ceased when an old couple walked out of their door. To their surprise they saw a naked young boy running down the hall with sheer joy on his face with a man running after him.

Bradley skidded to a stop in front of the old lady. "Hi," he said shyly.

"Hello to you, young man," the old lady snickered. Her husband was trying not to laugh.

It was about that time when Noah caught up with Bradley, wrapped the coat around him and picked him up. "I am _so_ sorry. He loves to run around naked for some reason." Noah was totally embarrassed.

"It's okay young man. I have a grandson that likes too as well."

Noah turned around and walked quickly back to their room. The old couple followed them to the elevators and stopped. They could see the family laughing further down the hall, so they knew nothing bad was happening to the boy. When Noah got back to their room, everyone was still laughing.

"Stop laughing." Noah told them as he walked into the room with Bradley. He wasn't pleased with his son's decision to run down the hall. He walked over to the couch and sat Bradley on it and kneeled in front of him. "We do not have time to talk about this now, but we will later."

"_Noah_ . . . ," Lucinda started to speak.

Luke, who was standing next to Noah and Bradley, came to Noah's defense. "Noah's right. We can't have our kids running down hotel hallways naked," replied Luke interrupting Lucinda. "Now go with Grandma Lily and Grandpa and get dressed."

"I'm sorry, Dad, Daddy," Bradley looked at his parents innocently chewing on his lower lip. He jumped off the bed, taking hold of Lily and Holden's hands and walked with his grandparents to get dressed.

Noah got up, turned to Luke and kissed him. "Thank you." He then walked over and picked up Charlene, taking her into the bathroom to fix her ponytail.

-P-

The family was continually surprised how Luke and Noah got all four of the kid's names right. Bradley was definitely Luke's son. His brown hair wasn't the only give away but he looked so much like Luke, even down to his dimpled smile but his free spirit and inability to think before he acted reminded everyone of Luke and his uncle Brad. Black-haired Charlene was the reserved one who thought things out to the extreme, the bossy one, snitch of the bunch and always wanted to walk in woman's high heels but Luke and Noah knew they needed to be careful to derail any budding wildness that may come out in her teen years. Blue-eyed Harvey was quiet and the protector, like his namesake and Emma, who looked a lot like Lily, was the one who always wanted to cuddle and mother everyone.

When the kids went to the park or to a play group a couple times a week, all the other kids knew not to pick on any of them because in the Snyder way, the other three would help protect the one getting picked on. Emma was proud the next generation had the Snyder spirit in them.

-P-

A few minutes later, Noah heard Luke yelling for him.

"Noah, we are going to be late. We can't be late," complained Luke.

"I just finished doing Charlene's hair."

Lucinda walked through the adjoining room door. "Luke, will you calm down. Oprah won't kill you if you're late."

"I'm just nervous." He admitted.

"Of course you are nervous, dear. Not everyone has their book selected for her book club. It's a real honor."

"I know. That's why I do not want to be late."

Lily, Emma and Holden came into their suite with Emma and Bradley. "Honey, we are ready."

"We can leave now, Luke," Noah walked out of the bedroom with Charlene.

Luke looked at how cute their kids looked dressed up but he quickly rushed everyone out the door, down the elevator, through the lobby and into the waiting limousine. Luke and Noah put the kids in the limousine first and the adults followed. Bradley kissed Noah on his cheek and gave his father the most adorable puppy dog eyes, as an apology for running down the hall, while Noah buckled him in a car seat. Noah kissed him back with a smile on his face.

The Crowne Plaza was only six blocks away from the studio, so before they knew it, they were there. They were ushered into the studio by one of Oprah's assistants and into make-up. She explained the structure of the show. After everyone was ready, they went into the green room to wait for the show to start. Just before the show started, everyone was escorted to their seats in the first row. Noah gave Luke a kiss and wished him well before he took his seat.

Oprah was introduced and walked out onto the set, to applause. "On today's show, author, philanthropist and husband of Hollywood director Noah Snyder, please welcome Luke Snyder. Come on out Luke."

Luke took a deep breath, walked out onto the set and was greeted on stage by Oprah. He waved to the crowd and sat down next to her.

"I was so captivated by 'Ripples in the Pond'." Oprah held up a copy of the book for the audience.

"Thank you, Oprah."

"Is it true that the book is based on your life?"

"Somewhat. Many of the things I write about in the book did happen to me but the larger plot surrounding it didn't. I twisted non-fiction with fiction."

Luke and Oprah talked about the book during the first half of the show.

-P-

"You also wrote a children's book?" A picture of the book went up on the screen behind them.

"Yes, the story takes place at my Grandma Emma's farm."

"Why place the book there?"

"It's one of the most wonderful places on this earth. I've been to a lot of places but the farm is special to me, much like my house in California."

"Truth be known, I've been to the farm a few times and to Luke's house in California. I've known Luke and his family ever since I attended a Luke Snyder Foundation fundraiser a few years ago."

"Yes, that was one of our first fundraisers in Los Angeles after our children were born."

"Tell us about the foundation."

"I received a rather large inheritance from my birth father. I didn't want it, so I decided to put the money to a better use and started a foundation to help kids with medical problems, which we still do and we also donate to social justice programs too. The foundation helps send kids with medical conditions to camp and offers family housing for when kids need to be in a hospital setting outside where they live. We also help orphanages with funding for housing and educational improvements, and fund medical equipment to hospitals that need them and on the social justice side, we fund gay-teen hotlines, anti-bullying efforts, and housing discrimination. I can go on for days telling you what all we fund."

"Your foundation also helped in building one of the best neurosurgical wings in the world in your hometown."

"Yes, in Oakdale, Illinois at Memorial Hospital. We are very proud of that. It has helped a lot of people throughout the years since it opened."

"Part of the reason why you decided to fund the wing is because your boyfriend at the time and your future husband was blinded in an accident."

"Yes, that is correct. But my husband's surgery was completed well before the wing opened. We decided to help fund the wing because in doing research for Noah's case showed a need for a good neurosurgical center that could handle his case."

"Your handsome husband is here in the audience."

"Yes, he is," Luke replied with a big grin.

The camera panned in on Noah who was holding Harvey on his lap. When Harvey saw himself on TV he started to wave, which had the audience laughing.

"And that's our son Harvey on his lap," Luke laughed as he saw his son.

"Noah, come on up here."

Noah got up and gave Harvey to Lily. He walked up on stage and hugged Oprah and gave Luke a hug and a kiss. As they sat down, Noah grabbed Luke's hand and held it. A move that caused some whispers from the audience but Noah didn't care.

"Let's watch a clip from Noah's latest movie."

The clip played for a minute and stopped. Applause resonated through the studio.

"You know, Noah, I'm hearing that the movie is a shoe-in for an Academy Award," Oprah said.

"I'm not so sure about that," Noah seemed a little bit embarrassed.

Luke hit Noah on the arm. "Listen to the woman. She knows what she's talking about." Luke's comment caused the audience to laugh.

"What's it like to be the new power couple in Hollywood?"

Luke and Noah looked at her in shock and at each other.

"Are you sure you're talking about us?" Luke was stunned.

"Yes. I'm talking about you. Every one of your books has been on the bestseller list and each one of Noah's movies has been one of the top grossing films of the year."

Neither one knew what to say, until Noah spoke up. "We've just been lucky."

"You both are certainly humble."

"Our family keeps up grounded."

"Let's talk about your family," the camera panned down on the kids and grandparents. "You have quadruplets, don't you?"

"Yes, born on Christmas day four years ago," Noah replied proudly.

"How have you managed four kids?"

"We have a large house, a large extended family and a lot of paid help," laughed Luke.

"I see your parents and grandmothers are here."

Luke nodded and replied. "Yes." The camera panned to Holden holding Bradley. "That's my father Holden Snyder and he's holding Bradley." The camera panned to Lily and Harvey. "That's my Mother Lily Snyder and Harvey." The camera then panned to Emma holding Emma. "That's my Grandma Emma Snyder and she's holding little Emma." And finally the camera panned over to Lucinda holding Charlene. "That's my Grandmother Lucinda Walsh and she's holding Charlene." The audience awed at every shot of the kids.

Noah added on. "Lily runs Luke's foundation and runs Worldwide with her mother, Lucinda, who also helps with the foundation as well. Luke's Grandmother Emma and her son Holden, Luke's dad, run one of the top horse breeding farms in the country."

"Is that _the_ Lucinda Walsh?" replied Oprah.

"Yes, it is."

"What's it like being the grandson of one of the most powerful woman in the country?"

"She is a fantastic . . . ," Luke started.

Lucinda interrupted. "Darling, if you finish that sentence, I will have to sue you for libel." The audience laughed. "I have a reputation to uphold you know." Lucinda knew her tough talking business woman reputation was blown when Charlene turned around in her seat and hugged her tightly.

Oprah changed the subject. "What about your family, Noah?"

"Both my parents are deceased but Luke's family took me in when I needed the help and has been my family for a long time now."

"Is that why you have a large family now?"

"I was an only child so I've always wanted to have a large family of my own but this bunch was a surprise to all of us. I figured we would have to go through In Vetro or adopt numerous time. We wouldn't change a thing though."

"Why don't we bring the children up here?"

The kids ran up on stage and gathered around Oprah calling her Auntie O and when they got a kiss, they went to sit on Luke and Noah's laps.

Charlene decided to tell Auntie O about her brother's nudeness, in front of everyone. "Bradley ran down the hall naked this morning."

"Charlene!" both Luke and Noah replied with horror on their face. Their family secret was just spilled on national television.

Luke explained what happened and everyone in the studio chuckled at the family's joyful adventures in the morning.

Oprah, through her laughter, looked at Bradley. "You are precocious, aren't you?"

Bradley's face broke into a wide smile as he looked at Luke. "That means I'm cute."

"Not exactly, honey," Luke laughed as he cupped his smiling son's chin.

The audience couldn't help but giggle at the adorable four-year old's comment.

"They are so cute," gushed Oprah. "Congratulations on your bustling careers, power couple status and your new family."

"Thank you!" both Luke and Noah replied.

-P-

The End


End file.
